


Mischief to be Managed

by she_is_destroyer_of_worlds



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Back to Hogwarts, Bisexual Albus Severus Potter, Gen, Harry Potter Next Generation, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Astronomy Tower, I promise they'll eventually kiss, M/M, POV Albus Severus Potter, Post-Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Quidditch World Cup, Room of Requirement Shenanigans, Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter Fluff, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Slytherin Albus Severus Potter, Slytherin Scorpius Malfoy, The Marauder's Map, super slow burn scorpius and albus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:09:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23661331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_is_destroyer_of_worlds/pseuds/she_is_destroyer_of_worlds
Summary: Albus Potter is heading back at Hogwarts for his 6th year, hoping to have a good year full of new experiences and lots of mischief. He's especially excited to spend it with Scorpius Malfoy, though this year it seems Albus can't keep his eyes off Scorpius and he's suddenly starting to hope that maybe they might end up becoming something more than just friends... But does Scorpius feel the same way?
Relationships: Albus Severus Potter & James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter & Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy & Albus Severus Potter & Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy/Rose Weasley
Comments: 32
Kudos: 94





	1. Back to School

Albus Potter was in the middle of packing his trunk, his parents yelling at him from downstairs to hurry up, when James appeared in the doorway. Albus peered at him suspiciously. His older brother was not usually the type to make unprompted visits to Albus’s room, unless it was to annoy him.  
James, obviously holding something behind his back, took a step into the room. “I’ve got something for you,” he said.  
“Picked up something from the joke shop? I’m in too much of a hurry to be pranked by you right now, James,” Albus sighed, continuing to toss items into his trunk with little care.  
James shook his head vigorously. “I’ll leave the pranks to Uncle Ron and Uncle George,” he said. “No, I promise this is good.” And with a flourish, he revealed a thick bundle of parchment in his hands.  
“What is that?”  
“It’s a map,” James said, a mischievous grin on his face. He placed it into Albus’s hands.  
“What kind of map?” Albus asked, looking down at the blank parchment. “It just looks like a bunch of parchment.”  
James pulled out his wand and held it over the parchment. “I solemnly swear I’m up to no good,” he murmured.  
Ink began to appear, snaking into words and designs until Albus could plainly see that it read “The Marauder’s Map”.  
“Open it,” said James, trying unsuccessfully to suppress his glee.  
Albus unfolded the parchment to see that it had become a massive map of Hogwarts. Here and there, he saw the labeled feet of various people walking through the halls of the castle. He saw one titled "Neville Longbottom" strolling down towards the greenhouses.  
“It shows you everyone at Hogwarts at all times,” James said. “And it’s got all the secret passages too. It’s brilliant!”  
“Where did you get this?”  
“I found it on Dad’s desk last year and took it from him,” James told him.  
“Hang on, you stole this from Dad?!” Albus exclaimed.  
“Yep. He didn’t even notice it was gone. Though I’m sure by now he knows I have it.”  
“How did you know how to use it?”  
James shrugged. “I asked Uncle Ron. Apparently, he and Aunt Hermione and Dad used it loads of times while at Hogwarts. And before them, Uncle George and Fred used it. And even better than that,” and he pulled the map out of Albus’s hands, folding it back to its cover, “look who the creators are!”  
Albus looked back down at the front of the map. The names were all familiar ones, ones that had come up in stories their dad had told them about his own dad’s school adventures.  
“Moony,” James pointed at first, “that’s Teddy’s dad, Remus. Then Padfoot, that’s Sirius,” and he puffed with pride for the man whose name was his own middle name, “and then Prongs, that’s-”  
“James,” Albus said softly. “Dad’s dad.”  
“Yeah,” James said quietly, his fingers lingering the longest over that name in particular.  
They both stared down at the map, thinking about their grandfather who they’d never met. Who not even their own dad had gotten to properly know. Then Albus felt the map being pushed back into his own hands.  
“It’s yours now,” James said, looking at his brother with an unusual kindness in his eyes. “Now that I've graduated from Hogwarts, someone new needs to get good use out of this map.”  
Albus was speechless. He would’ve expected something like this to be given straight to Lily if anything, but here it was in his hands. “Th- Thanks,” he sputtered.  
“Listen,” James began, “I know I haven’t always been the older brother you needed me to be, but I’ve got your back. Always. And if anyone tries to mess with you or Lily, make sure to let them know they messed with the wrong Potters.”  
Albus laughed and ran his hand through his thick black hair, looking fondly at his brother. “Thanks, James.”  
Before James could say another word, Harry’s voice rang out from the steps. “Get in the car! We’re going to be late for the train!”  
Lily dragged her trunk through the hall, passing by Albus’s room and upon seeing both the boys, rolled her eyes in frustration at her parents’ yells. They both shook their heads in commiseration.  
“One last thing,” James said. He pointed his wand at the map again. “Mischief managed,” he whispered, and the parchment went blank again. “For once in your life Al, have some fun at Hogwarts. And most importantly,” and he looked at Albus with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, “don’t get caught.”  
Then he swung out of the room and Albus was alone in his room. He gently shoved the map in with the rest of his packing and with a bit of a struggle, closed the trunk.  
-

  
After a hurried car ride, they were through the brick wall with time to spare, and Albus was suddenly surrounded once again by his Hogwarts classmates. He automatically scanned the crowd for pale blonde hair and quickly found it, waving over to Scorpius, who stood beside his father, looking more and more like him as he got older. Scorpius gave him an enthusiastic wave before heading towards the train.  
“I’ll meet you on board,” he mouthed.  
Albus gave him a thumbs up.  
Then he turned back to his family, looking them over. Lily had already said her goodbyes to everyone and was hurrying off to join her friends on the train, and it was just Albus in front of all of them.  
James gave him a knowing nod that Albus returned before Ginny wrapped her arms around him tightly. “Have a good year, Al,” she told him. “Don’t do anything stupid and don’t forget to write!”  
“I’ll do my best, Mum,” he said, smiling.  
She held him out at an arm's length and stared at him for a moment.  
“What?”  
She sighed with a sad smile. “You look so much like Dad sometimes that I think for a second I’m looking back in time.”  
Albus gave her a crooked smile before she pulled him in for another hug.  
“Be good,” she said.  
Then he turned to his dad, who looked over at him with the same green eyes that Albus had.  
“Good luck this year, Al,” Harry said softly. He and Albus stood almost eye-to-eye now and he smiled at his son, looking proud, before he went to hug Albus.  
“Bye Dad,” Albus replied quietly, hugging his father tightly.  
The train whistled and they broke apart, Albus hurrying towards the train with his trunk. After he’d heaved the trunk onto the train, he glanced back at his parents, who stood together on the platform, Harry’s arm wrapped around Ginny’s waist. He gave them a small wave that they both returned, and then headed down the corridor to find Scorpius.  
-  
Albus passed compartment after compartment full of Hogwarts students, many of whom looked familiar as well as those who looked like nervous first-years. He gave a wave to his cousin Rose who passed him in the corridor, already in her robes, hurrying along to the prefect’s carriage, who gave him a curt nod and a cheerful smile in return before rushing past him. He eventually came to a compartment that was nearly empty but for one pale boy in Slytherin robes. Scorpius was in the midst of pinning his green prefect badge on when Albus finally made his way inside, lugging his trunk behind him. Like Albus, he’d grown several inches over the summer and his robes looked crisp and new. Scorpius grinned, finishing putting the badge on and running to hug Albus.  
“I thought you’d never come!” he exclaimed. “I haven’t much time to chat - I’ve got to run to the prefect’s carriage any minute!”  
“I just passed Rose headed there too,” Albus told him, smiling at the sight of his friend.  
Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief as he turned for the door. “Oh good, we’re both running late then. Listen,” he said, looking back at Albus. “I’ll be back after my meeting and prefect duties and then we’ll get to catch up.” He looked Albus up and down one last time with a smile. “Merlin’s beard, it's good to see you!” And then he turned and ran down the corridor towards the prefect carriage.  
Alone in the compartment, Albus stowed his trunk and then settled down into the window seat where he could watch the countryside fly by. He made sure to buy extra sweets from the Trolley Witch when she came by so he could share with Scorpius when he came back. In the meantime, Albus opened up one of his chocolate frog boxes carefully, grabbing tightly to the frog as it tried to jump out. As he bit into the chocolate, he dug into the box to pull out the card and burst out laughing when he saw his own father staring back at him. He tucked the chocolate frog card into his rucksack and pulled out a new book on defensive spells that his dad had given him. As proud as he was of Scorpius having been chosen as one of Slytherin’s prefects, Albus missed spending the entirety of the train ride with his friend, though Scorpius’ patrol duties on the train were usually minimal. He was still grateful that Scorpius always returned to sit with him rather than staying in the prefect’s carriage.  
He lost track of time, engrossed in his book and when the doors of the train compartment opened again, he looked up startled. Scorpius stood in the doorway, lit up by the afternoon sun. He hadn’t just gotten taller over the summer, but Albus also now realized that Scorpius’s face had changed ever so slightly too, making him look older than he had when they’d last seen each other. The sight of him left Albus unexpectedly speechless. Scorpius took a seat across from him, looking eager to talk. Albus reached over and tossed him a chocolate frog, still in a bit of a daze.  
“Thanks,” Scorpius said, already unwrapping it. He managed to successfully hold onto his frog and took a big bite out of it while grinning at Albus. “I took the early rounds,” he told Albus gleefully, “so I’ve got the rest of the train ride to hang out here.”  
Then he looked around for his chocolate frog card and smiled when he saw who it was. He flipped it over to look at Albus, who found himself staring at his namesake, Albus Dumbledore. Albus smiled at the sight of it, before looking up at Scorpius.  
“So how was your summer?” he asked.  
Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. “Quiet. As always,” he replied. “But we went to Ireland over the holiday which was fun! Got to listen to the World Cup over the radio in a pub, and people were going absolutely mad! Though I bet it was nothing like being there. You have to tell me everything!”  
Albus grinned. The Quidditch World Cup had been in Japan this year, and with his mum’s job covering sports for the Daily Prophet, she’d been invited, taking the rest of the family with her to everyone’s delight. “It was amazing!” he exclaimed. “I was rooting for Brazil until they got knocked out of the competition, and then I switched over to supporting Ireland for the finale. And what a game! Mexico really put up a fight and for a second I thought they had it, but then Ireland caught the snitch almost right in front of our box! It was brilliant!”  
He rummaged through his rucksack and pulled out a program and scarf from the Japanese team, handing them to Scorpius. “These are for you.”  
Scorpius looked like he was going to burst from excitement. He looked down at the program, which had signatures scrawled over it and froze. “Is this signed by the Japanese team?”  
“Yep! My mum pulled some strings to get all their autographs,” Albus replied with a sly smile. “And I promise I cheered for them on your behalf when they played.”  
Scorpius, who idolized the seeker for Japan, still looked in shock but broke to tease Albus. “Well apparently you didn’t cheer loud enough! Egypt crushed them in the semi-finals,” he laughed. “But, wow, Albus, this is so kind... Thank you!”  
He launched out of his seat and gave Albus a crushing hug. He then placed the program and scarf gently next to him, continually peeking over at them every so often.  
“So,” he started, leaning back into his seat, “we’re sixth years now.”  
Albus shook his head. “Seems bloody impossible. It’s been a crazy few years.”  
Scorpius gave him a knowing smile. “That’s for sure.”  
Albus didn’t ask him about his O.W.L. results, knowing that while Scorpius had probably gotten Outstanding marks in all his classes, he was always nervous about his grades. Albus himself hadn’t done too bad. He’d gotten a decent number of Outstanding’s and Exceeds Expectations and hadn’t managed to utterly fail any of them, so he was quite pleased. His parents had both been particularly excited to see that he’d gotten an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts. The two boys managed to avoid the question, continuing to catch up with news from the summer, until Rose Granger-Weasley popped her head into the compartment. She too had grown up a lot over the summer, though of course Albus had seen her often over the holiday, including at the Quidditch World Cup.  
“Hello both of you!” she said brightly from the doorway. “I’ve just gotten off my patrol and thought I’d pop in to say hi.”  
Rose slid into the compartment and took a seat, helping herself to Albus’s box of Bertie Botts. He swatted at her lazily as she pulled them close to her, shooting him a mischievous smile that looked just like her dad’s. Doing his best not to reveal it, Albus was still a bit tense though, looking back and forth between Scorpius and Rose, who sat decently close. As the years had gone on, Rose had become a dear friend and ally to the two Slytherin boys, but last year, she’d finally accepted Scorpius’s incessant requests to go on a date with him, leading to a disastrous couple of months where they’d attempted to date. By the end of the year it had fizzled out, leading Albus to fear what would happen to the friendship of all of them, but it was obvious by the way the two of them seemed at ease with each other that there was no lingering malice from either party.  
“So, Scorpius,” Rose began, digging through the box of Bertie Botts for her favorite flavors, “how did you do on your O.W.L.s?”  
Scorpius looked at her with smug smile, “Not too bad. I got nine.”  
She raised her eyebrows playfully. “Hmmm... Not terrible.”  
“And you, Miss Granger-Weasley,” he asked, “how did you do?”  
“Ten,” she mouthed with a smirk which then broke into a genuine smile.  
“That’s brilliant!” Scorpius exclaimed.  
“Thanks! And nine is fantastic, congrats!”  
Albus’s eyes narrowed at the both of them. “Oy, what about me?!” he called out to his cousin.  
She turned and rolled her eyes. “I already know how you did, our parents are in constant touch! And seven O.W.L.s is quite a respectable number!”  
Albus found himself turning read in embarrassment but quickly laughed it off, reaching over to grab the box of Bertie Botts out of Rose’s hands. He popped a random bean into his mouth and immediately grimaced.  
“Pepper,” he muttered as the other two laughed at him.  
Rose lingered for a while longer, chatting with them both until the light outside began to fade. Albus looked out at the Scottish Highlands, still bursting in summer green and felt a certain rare excitement begin to creep in as they approached Hogwarts.  
“Well,” Rose said, “I expect we’ll be arriving in the next hour or so. I’m going to go look for Hugo. I’ll see you boys soon!”  
And with a quick wave, she was gone, bounding down the corridor. Albus stretched out and glanced back outside.  
“Well, I guess I should get changed into my robes,” he said, looking down at the muggle clothing he was still wearing.  
When the train finally rolled up to Hogsmeade Station, Scorpius hurried past him to help guide the first years, leaving Albus to drag his trunk off the train and deposit it amongst the others to be delivered up to the castle. He adjusted his robes and headed off towards the carriages, gently petting the thestral pulling his before he climbed in and began the journey up to the castle. In the distance, he could see the castle looming before him, all lit up to welcome its students home.  


He was back.


	2. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus and Scorpius settle back into their dormitory.

The Great Hall was noisy and brightly lit, with the sound of eager students echoing around the cavernous space. Besides the occasional wide-eyed glance from newly sorted-first years in Albus’s direction (everyone always wanted a glimpse of the Potter kids), most of his classmates left him alone, or at least when they talked to him, it was because they actually wanted to, not just because he was a Potter. He enjoyed the respect he’d earned from his fellow Slytherins in particular, having come to love his house and its people. He and Scorpius spent their time in between stuffing their faces with food making small talk with some of the other older Slytherins. 

By the time the Hall was dismissed, Albus had eaten enough Treacle Tart alone that he felt like he might burst. As a group of Hufflepuffs passed by, he gave a wave to his cousin Hugo, who a few years back had also joined the club of breaking the long-standing Gryffindor streak that both their families came from. Hugo smiled and waved back eagerly before his group of friends turned to head down towards their common room. With the 5th year prefects in charge of ushering the first years to their new dormitories, Scorpius was able to walk with Albus down to the Slytherin common room. The temperature dropped as they ventured down into the dungeons, dark shadows flickering across the stone walls. Albus was relieved to find that upon entering the common room though, the fireplace was roaring and the room had an inviting glow to it. Instead of lingering amongst the other Slytherins though, the boys both turned down one of the adjacent corridors, lined with candles to light the way, towards the boys dormitories. 

They were the first ones into their room, pleased to see that their trunks had arrived before them, placed at the ends of their four poster beds. Scorpius’s cat, Jinx, was already curled up on Scorpius’s bed, fast asleep. 

“You know, it feels good to be back,” Scorpius exclaimed as he sat down at his bed, reaching over to pet Jinx. “Home gets too quiet. I missed being in a place with so much life.”

Albus turned to look at him. “Is it hard for your dad, when you're off at school?”

Scorpius nodded. “Yeah, he’ll never admit it to me, but he hates when I leave. Our house is too big for just one person. But I did convince him to finally buy a cat this year! So he won’t be entirely alone.”

Albus laughed at the thought of Draco Malfoy as a begrudging cat owner, though he couldn’t help but feel bad for him as well, left alone for much of the year. He thought about his own parents as well and how inseparable they were, even after all these years. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like if one lost the other. 

Scorpius continued talking as he walked over to his trunk, “I should remind my Aunt Daphne to pay him a visit soon. I know she promised my mum she’d keep an eye on my dad. Her and my uncle invite him over for dinner sometimes.” He trailed off, biting his lip. Albus knew he was thinking about his mum. He recognized that same expression in Scorpius’s face that he’d often seen on both his parents’ faces when they talked about people they’d lost. It had been a few years since Astoria Malfoy had died, but Scorpius carried the grief of losing her with him always. As Albus tried to think of something to say, one of the other 6th year Slytherins, Michael Chen, walked into the room, giving the boys a curt nod as he walked over to his bed. Scorpius was quiet and busied himself with opening up his trunk while Albus moved to do the same, sighing as he settled back into making this dormitory his home again. 

The large windows lining the room looked out into the lake were pitch black at this hour, a sight that used to frighten Albus. Now he loved falling asleep to the sound of the water lapping at the windows. As he rummaged through his trunk for his pajamas, he caught sight of the map. In the rush of arriving back to school, he’d totally forgotten about it. He glanced over at Scorpius, who had already changed out of his robe and into a pair of green flannel pajama pants and worn t-shirt, looking exhausted. Albus himself yawned, looking forward to climbing into a warm bed. He’d tell Scorpius about the map tomorrow. By now, some of their other schoolmates had begun to shuffle in, nodding to Albus and Scorpius. Martin Beckett made a racket as he sifted through his trunk’s contents, as Caleb Nott took to hanging up a large Ireland Quidditch pennant over his bed, muttering a sticking charm to attach it to the mahogany paneling that covered the walls of the room. Albus gave him a friendly smile, having seen him in attendance at the Quidditch World Cup over the summer. 

“Nice summer?” Albus asked him.

“Not too bad!” Caleb replied with a grin. “The World Cup was fantastic this year! What a final match!”

“I know! It was brilliant!” Albus replied. 

Scorpius, who had been looking like he was about to go to sleep suddenly perched on  the edge of his bed. “O’Hara caught that snitch just in time! If Mexico had scored even once more, they still would’ve lost - it would’ve been like the ‘94 game all over again!”

Albus and James had always been riveted by their dad’s stories about that legendary game, though it had taken Harry many more years to add to his stories to them what had happened following the game. It was strange for Albus to look over at Scorpius and know that his grandfather had been part of the terror of that night, but he shook the thought from his head. 

Michael Chen joined the conversation now, sitting on his bed in his pajamas. “Let’s hope Slytherin’s quidditch team has Ireland’s luck this year,” he added. “I’d love for us to take home the Quidditch Cup this year.”

Michael was the new captain of Slytherin’s quidditch team, as well as one of the school’s best chasers. 

“Yeah well, as long as we can get our hands on a new keeper,” lamented Caleb, who was one of the team’s beaters. “Especially now that Emma Zabini’s graduated, we’re desperate!”

Michael looked over at Albus, his eyes narrowed. “Potter, why have you never tried out for the team? Everyone else in your family plays!”

Albus shrugged. “Guess I never really considered it.”

That was a lie. He had considered it, immensely. Especially recently. Quidditch hadn’t come easy to him, but he’d played enough of it with his siblings and cousins that he wasn’t half bad anymore. Not only that, but he loved it. He loved the feeling of flying, the way it felt to leave everything behind him on the ground. It was freeing. It was just that when he had to be compared to his siblings, he was terrified to not measure up. James had been a brilliant chaser for Gryffindor during his time at Hogwarts, and then Lily had joined the team as a second-year to become Gryffindor’s seeker. Albus couldn’t compete with that. But still, he caught himself dreaming of the possibility. Then Michael spoke again, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Well, you should think about it,” he said. “How about you, Scorpius?”

Scorpius shook his head. “Maybe in some alternate timeline I can play quidditch,” he said with a quiet laugh, “but not in this one. I much prefer to watch it instead.”

All the boys laughed. Albus gave him a knowing smile and Scorpius replied with a wink.

They all continued to talk late into the night, regaling each other with stories from their summer holiday and continuing talk of quidditch until Caleb glanced down at his watch to note the time.

“Not to break this up, but it’s midnight and I’m absolutely knackered,” he exclaimed, dramatically falling back onto his bed. 

Albus caught himself yawning as he glanced down at his own watch, shocked at the time. The boys all bid each other goodnight, and soon the room was dark as they all climbed into their beds. As he closed the curtains of his four poster bed, Albus quietly grabbed the map from his trunk and took his wand off his nightstand where he’d left it, and snuck them onto his bed. Once behind the privacy of his curtained walls, he blindly pointed his wand at the map.

_ "I solemnly swear I’m up to no good,”  _ he breathed, careful that no one hear him. Then he held his wand out above the map.

_ “Lumos,”  _ he whispered and dim light burst from the tip of his wand. In the wandlight, the Marauder's Map welcomed him, and he carefully unfolded the parchment bit by bit, trying to stay quiet. The map showed quiet halls, with all the students already in their dormitories. He saw Headmistress McGonagall was still awake, pacing in her office. Peeves was wandering the halls of the second floor, no doubt causing trouble. Professor Longbottom was in the greenhouses, despite the late hour, probably engrossed in caring for the plants. As he searched the different parts of the map, he discovered marks for various secret passages. He easily found the Slytherin dungeon, staring down at his own name. It was strange to see Hogwarts laid out like this before him. Here was the whole castle at his disposal, to be explored whenever he wanted. Soon though, he found his eyes closing involuntarily, his head drooping in sleep, and he decided to finally sleep. He’d have plenty of time to look it over. 

_ “Mischief managed,”  _ he whispered, stowing the map under his pillow and resting his wand back on his nightstand.

Morning came far too quickly for his liking. Albus woke to Scorpius shaking him awake. 

“Albus, you’ve got to get up! We’re going to miss breakfast at this rate!” he exclaimed. 

He stared at Scorpius, who was already dressed in his robes, in a daze, rubbing his eyes. The curtains around his bed had been opened and he saw that they were the only two people left in the room. A grindylow lazily swam past the nearest window, filtered sunlight streaming into the room. 

“Do I really have to get up?” Albus asked, only partially joking.

Scorpius rolled his eyes at Albus. “Al, it’s the first day of classes.”

Albus sighed in defeat and dragged himself out of bed.

Still half-asleep, he pulled on his robes while Scorpius pinned and re-pinned his crooked prefect badge until it rested perfectly straight. He finally turned back to Scorpius, holding his arms out to present himself.

“Happy now?” Albus asked jokingly, his voice still hoarse from sleep.

Scorpius looked him over and burst out laughing. “You look bloody ridiculous,” he replied with a grin. “You’ve at least got to tame your hair before you leave this room.”

He grabbed his hairbrush and handed it to Albus, who attempted to flatten the severe  bedhead he’d woken up with. Where his siblings’ hair always looked neat, he’d inherited his father’s untidy mess of black hair. He personally loved it, but it very rarely did what he wished. Even as he violently brushed his hair in an attempt to give it a bit less volume, he seemed to just be making it worse. He finally resorted to running his fingers through his hair until it felt slightly more presentable.

“Better?” he asked with a sheepish grin.

“Better,” replied Scorpius. He gave Albus one final look up and down, pausing once more. He reached out towards Albus, grabbing Albus’s loosely done tie and fixed it into place with gentle hands. At Scorpius’s touch, Albus felt like a Body-Bind spell had been placed on him, standing frozen. “Perfect,” Scorpius said, taking a step back from Albus.

Albus didn’t realize he’d stopped breathing until Scorpius quickly turned away from him and he suddenly found his lungs burning for air. He gulped in air, his heart racing and his head spinning. Scorpius looked back at him from the doorway.

“Are you coming or not?” he asked, staring expectantly.

Albus rolled his shoulders back and smoothed out the creases in his uniform, trying not to look too closely at Scorpius. “Of course!” he replied with unnatural enthusiasm. “I’m starving!”


	3. Tryouts

The first days of class blurred by. Albus was thrilled to find that though his morning free period left him on his own, his afternoon free period matched up with Scorpius’s. In the meantime, his classes faded one into the next and Scorpius had to nudge him awake in potions and charms more than once. The assignments piled up quickly as well, with lots of books to be read and essays to be written. By the time they reached Friday, Albus was already exhausted. Still, he left dinner early that night, muttering an excuse to Scorpius without leaving him time to respond, and running down to the Slytherin Common Room. In his dormitory, he pulled out his broom. It was an old  _ firebolt _ that his mum had used before she’d upgraded to the  _ Firebolt Supreme, _ when she had still played quidditch professionally. His hands shaking, he clutched the broom and let his feet carry him all the way to the quidditch pitch, where the Slytherin tryouts were taking place. Albus was one of the first to arrive, greeting Michael Chen with a wave. 

“Glad I convinced you to sign up!” he said.

Albus was so nervous, he felt like he was going to burst at any moment. “Well, let’s just hope I don’t come to regret it!” he replied, only half-joking. He took a seat on the side of the field, looking around as more Slytherins filed onto the field. In total, there were about 12 of them there, not including the two first years Michael had to shoo away, nor the existing team members who were now all on the field in their quidditch robes. There were two positions open this year: a beater and the keeper. Albus looked around at all of them, convinced that he wouldn’t measure up and still mostly in shock that he was there at all, feeling terrified and excited all at the same time. He’d signed up on a bit of a whim, but a summer full of quidditch had inspired something in him and he decided he’d be brave and go for it. Though of course, he hadn’t dared to tell anyone, especially not his siblings, just in case this whole thing went disastrously. He tried not to watch the others who went before him, but his eyes kept drifting up to them. The girl who they currently had in for keeper was pretty good, blocking at least half of the quaffles thrown her way. Albus tried not to think about how he’d compare. Before long, he heard his name called and he made his way over, in spite of his brain screaming at him to run away before he made a bloody fool of himself. 

“You’re going for keeper, right?” Michael asked, consulting the sign-up list.

“Yes,” Albus replied quietly.

“Right then, you’re up,” he said, gesturing towards the team, still up in the air.

The last time Albus had flown a broom at Hogwarts, he’d been a nervous first year who could barely get off the ground. He tried not to think of his 11-year-old self as he mounted his broom, relieved as he rose up into the air, flying with ease towards the quidditch hoops. Michael appeared nearby, though he was only watching. The chasers were slow with him initially, getting a sense for him as they picked up the pace of their passing and attempts at scoring. Albus was trembling, his hands gripping tightly to his broom.

He took a deep breath in and for a moment, he was back at the Burrow in the summertime, in a field full of cousins and aunts and uncles on brooms. He was with James and Lily, acting as their practice keeper, blocking their throws as they cussed under their breath. He was alone, working hard into the night to learn how to properly control his broom, how to fly faster and harder, how to sit on a broom like it felt natural.

He exhaled, staring out at the view of the Hogwarts he had from this high up and his hands steadied. He knew how to do this.

The quaffle flew towards him and he blocked it with ease. Then he blocked the next one, and the next one, and the next one, until he watched Michael Chen’s face go from curiosity to looking quite impressed. The rapid turns he’d worked so hard to perfect over the summer came in handy as he dived for the quaffle over and over again. He lost count of them after a while, focusing only on the feel of the broom in his hands, on the way the wind ruffled his hair, on the way the sky glowed at this hour. He watched the chasers with narrow precision, tracking the quaffle as it moved between them, calculating their next moves. 

Albus was exhausted by the time tryouts ended, though nothing came close to the pride he felt as he walked off the quidditch pitch. 

Michael shook his head at him as Albus left for night, smiling widely. “Brilliant,” Michael said under his breath. Albus grinned back at him before heading back up to the castle, his head still up in the clouds.

He returned to the Slytherin common room late, his body aching. One of the last people remaining still up, Scorpius was curled up by the fire with his nose buried in a book. He looked up when Albus entered.

“Where have you been?” he asked, sounding surprised at Albus’s late arrival.

Albus nervously ran his hands through his hair, shivering ever so slightly as he stood in the darkened room. He pulled his broom out from behind his back so Scorpius could see.

“I er- I tried out for quidditch,” he said, giving Scorpius an embarrassed smile.

“Really?” Scorpius exclaimed, putting down his book. “How’d it go?”

“Not bad! I think I’ve got a real chance of making it onto the team!”

“That’s amazing! I was worried when you disappeared after dinner, I had no clue where you’d gone off to!”

Albus stepped closer to the fire, trying to warm up. “Sorry for not telling you,” he said, looking down at Scorpius. “I was just a bit nervous about the whole thing. What are you up to?”

“Finished an essay for ancient runes, and now I’m just re-reading  _ Hogwarts: A History _ ,” he replied, holding up the book for Albus to see.

Albus shook his head laughing. “Scorpius Malfoy, you are such an absolute nerd!”

Scorpius put his hand over his heart. “And proudly so!” he exclaimed. 

Albus smiled, gripping the mantle to stay standing as a new wave of exhaustion washed over him. Scorpius gave him a look of amused pity.

“You look like you’re about to fall asleep at any moment,” he said, grabbing his book and getting to his feet. “Let’s go to bed.”

Albus fell asleep so quickly he barely remembered his head touching his pillow.

Saturday was quiet, full mostly just of schoolwork. It was still warm enough that they spent the afternoon out in the sunny courtyard. Scorpius had finished his potions essay far faster than Albus had, and was now practicing nonverbal spells. Albus occasionally glanced over at him to see Scorpius deep in concentrating, his brow furrowed, trying to levitate his books wordlessly. Albus found himself constantly re-reading the same sentences of his book, unable to concentrate. His mind was on quidditch tryouts, on his charms homework, on how Scorpius was distracted enough that he didn’t notice Albus stealing glances at him, just for the sake of looking at his face. Soon, he could no longer keep straight any of the potion ingredients he was supposed to be mentioning, luckily catching himself before writing “horned slugs” instead of “root of asphodel.” Finally he gave up, rolling up his parchment and dramatically closing his book. The sound of it made Scorpius jump, and the textbook he had managed to levitate midair dropped to the ground with a thud. Albus stole one last glance at him before Scorpius turned to him. His already pale hair seemed to glow in the late afternoon sunshine, giving him a sort of ethereal halo.

“Finally done?” he asked.

Albus shook his head. “Nearly there. Though I’m hoping I can convince you to help me finish it later since you understand potions far better than I do.”

“Lucky for you, I don’t need much convincing,” Scorpius replied with a friendly smile. 

Something about it made Albus’s head buzz madly and he distractedly dropped his  book. Without missing a beat, Scorpius waved his wand and wordlessly levitated it back into Albus’s hands, trying not to look too proud about his new skill. Albus playfully rolled his eyes back at Scorpius and then remembered what he’d been putting off telling Scorpius for days.

“Let’s go back to the common room,” Albus said, picking up his things. “I want to show you something.”

Scorpius looked confused, but obliged, placing his books back into his bag and heading back with Albus towards the dungeons. Albus breathed a sigh of relief that their dormitory was empty, dumping his armful of schoolwork onto his bed and hurrying over to his trunk to pull out the map. He took a seat on bed, gesturing for Scorpius to join him. Scorpius climbed onto the bed to sit beside Albus, leaning in to look at the map. Albus tried not to think about every single place his skin touched Scorpius’s. Instead, he held his wand over the parchment and with a flourish said,  _ “I solemnly swear I’m up to no good!” _ As usual, the map came to life and all of Hogwarts was before them. Scorpius’s eyes grew wide at the sight of it, as Albus unfolded more pieces of the map, revealing more and more of the school. 

“Albus, what exactly is this and where did you find it?” Scorpius asked, trying very hard to stay calm, though Albus could see the excitement in his eyes.

“It’s called the Marauder’s Map. It covers all of Hogwarts and everyone inside it!” 

Scorpius’s jaw dropped as Albus continued. “James gave it to me before I left for school. It used to belong to my dad!”

“This is...brilliant!” Scorpius breathed, not taking his eyes off of the parchment. Familiar names traversed the halls. Rose was apparently in the library, Hugo in his common room, Lily out by the lake. 

“I figure we should try to get some good use of it while we’re still at Hogwarts,” Albus said mischievously. 

“Albus, we’re very boring people,” he laughed. “I’ve no idea what sorts of mischief we could get up to.”

Albus wracked his brain for something that would entice Scorpius.

“I dunno… We could explore the castle a bit, avoid people we hate.” he started, before another idea popped into his head. “We could sneak into the restricted section of the library if you’d like,” he proposed.

Scorpius’s face immediately lit up. 

“Yes. Absolutely yes.”

Just then they heard footsteps in the stone hallway and Albus glanced down at the map again, finding himself and Scorpius on it as he watched Martin Beckett approaching the door. He quickly pointed his wand back down at the map.

_ “Mischief managed!” _ he whispered, and the map went blank again. By the time Martin walked into the dormitory, he was just putting it away.

“We’ll make plans for that later,” he said to Scorpius under his breath.

“Good,” Scorpius whispered back. 

Dinner wasn’t in too long, so they decided to slowly meander their way back through the corridors leading up to the Great Hall. Albus was jittery, knowing that the Quidditch list would probably go up in just hours. Scorpius did his best to distract him, keeping their conversations light. Still, his hands shook as he ate and his mind was everywhere but at the table.

“Hey,” Scorpius said quietly, resting his hand on Albus’s for a brief moment. “Don’t stress, it sounds like you really impressed the team.”

“I know,” he replied, his voice barely audible in the noisy hall. “Still…”

“It’s gonna be fine, no matter what,” Scorpius told him. 

There was something about his voice, his calmness, that made Albus take a deep breath and relax for a moment.

“Okay,” he said, his head nodding. “Yeah, it’s gonna be fine.”

They walked back to the Slytherin dungeons slowly, with Scorpius talking the whole time in an effort to keep Albus’s mind away from the list. Michael wasn’t there yet, so Scorpius guided Albus over to the couch where they both sat down by the fire. Albus stared into the flames, refusing to focus on anything else, his hands back to their trembling. Despite looking intently at the fireplace, he still knew in an instant when Michael entered the common room, now holding a piece of parchment that he posted on the board amidst flyers for school clubs and reminders to students. He was barely aware of making his way over there, pushing through the crowd of students already forming around the list. He was terrified to look and yet he scanned it anyway, rereading it a thousand times over to make sure it was correct. The noises around him dulled as he stared and his knees buckled in shock. There was his name, written in freshly dried ink. 

_ Slytherin keeper: Albus Potter. _

When he turned around, Scorpius was right there behind him, beaming with pride. He swept Albus up in a hug.

“Merlin’s beard, you did it!” he exclaimed. 

“I did it,” Albus said quietly, sinking down in shock. Scorpius pulled him up before wrapping him in another celebratory hug. Albus melted into it, wishing he could stay wrapped in Scorpius’s arms for an eternity. But then he remembered that he was still in the Slytherin common room and that Scorpius was only hugging him to say congratulations, nothing more, and Albus quickly took a step back. Meanwhile, the other Slytherins all discussed the new lineup excitedly. In another corner of the room, Erin Jones, the new Slytherin beater, was also being congratulated by her friends.

Michael Chen came over to him soon after, extending a hand towards him. 

“Welcome to the team, Albus,” he said, looking pleased. “We’re excited to have you.”

Albus was barely able to speak, shaking Michael’s hand while wearing a massive grin on his face. “Thank you!” he sputtered.

-

At breakfast the following day, Rose and Lily both approached him before he could sit down, looking thrilled.

“Albus,” Rose began, “we’ve just heard the news! I had no idea you were trying out!”

Albus nervously ruffled his hair. “Yeah, decided to on a bit of a whim,” he mumbled.

Rose hugged him. “It's fantastic! I’m sure your parents will be thrilled as well!”

Lily hugged him as well. “Congrats, Al! Have you told them yet?” Lily asked.

“Who? Mum and Dad? No, I’m planning on writing a letter later today,” Albus said, trying to supress the smile that had crept over his lips.

“I don’t know what the bigger shock will be - that you’re on the team, or that they’re suddenly going to be obligated to root for Slytherin’s quidditch team for the first time in their lives!” Lily laughed.

He laughed along with her at the thought of his mum and dad begrudgingly supporting Slytherin on his behalf. He couldn’t wait to tell them the news. Back in his room, he scratched out a letter to his parents and trudged over to the owlery to find one of the school owls, tying the note to a large tawny owl and telling him where to head. He floated through the rest of the day in a happy daze, walking back to the dungeons with a perpetual smile. When he returned to the common room, he found that Scorpius had claimed his usual seat and was busy reading their Charms textbook, with a black cat asleep in his lap. Albus grabbed his own homework and took a seat across from Scorpius. Both Scorpius and Jinx looked up at him when he sat down. 

“Do you still need help with that potions essay?” Scorpius asked.

Albus gave him a pitiful look. “Yes.”

“Well, come over here and let me give it a look,” he said, gesturing towards the space next to him on the couch. 

While Scorpius read over his essay, Albus reached over to pet Jinx. The cat purred even louder as Albus scratched her head. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Scorpius looking over at him. Albus found himself blushing without even really knowing why.

“What?” he asked when he caught Scorpius looking at him again, his mouth breaking into a smile.

“Nothing,” Scorpius insisted, feigning innocence. He immediately pivoted the conversation. “Do you have a quill on hand?”

Albus got up to grab the one he’d left by his books, sitting back down beside Scorpius, who handed him his essay. “Okay, you’re just missing talking about two ingredients,” he said, detailing their names and purposes to Albus, who carefully added them into the essay. When he finished, he triumphantly rolled up the parchment and leaned back in relief, closing his eyes. 

“You do know we’ve got other work still to do,” Scorpius reminded him. 

Albus opened one eye to look at him. “Don’t ruin this moment for me,” he moaned. “Sixth year is already killing me.”

“It’s only going to get harder, you know!”

Albus yawned. “I already need a break. Any way I can convince you to play a game of wizard chess?”

Scorpius sighed but looked over at Albus in defeat. “Of course,” he replied. “You know I can’t say no to wizard chess. But just one game!”

“Fine,” Albus said, grinning. “Just one game.”


	4. The Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys finally get some use out of the Marauder's Map on Halloween.

Albus quickly fell into his new routine, his days filled with classes and Quidditch practice and endless schoolwork. The days progressively got colder as they moved into October, the forest turning into a brilliant patchwork of orange and yellow. It was Albus’s favorite time of year, with cozy trips to Hogsmeade and pumpkins filling the Great Hall. 

On the morning of Halloween, Albus and Scorpius were down in the potions dungeons, leaning over a bubbling cauldron.

“I think we should use the map tonight,” Albus whispered.

Scorpius tried to suppress a smile as he continued cutting up potions ingredients, his eyes staying fixed on his knife.

“And what do you propose we do?”

“I’ve got a place in mind, but it’s a surprise” Albus whispered back. 

Scorpius brow furrowed in feigned frustration. “Albus Potter, you know how much I hate surprises,” he replied quietly.

“You’ll like this one,” Albus insisted. “Don’t worry.”

“Fine!” he conceded. “Tonight then. But this better be good”

“Tonight. And it will be, I promise!”

“What are you two plotting?” Rose asked, suddenly turning from her own cauldron to look at them. 

Both boys feigned innocence. 

“Nothing!”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. Albus had forgotten just how close she was to them. He normally enjoyed the company of Rose in the shared Slytherin-Gryffindor classes, but he wasn’t exactly prepared to tell Rose about the map just yet. 

The rest of the day dragged on for an eternity until the boys finally made their way to dinner in the Great Hall. Massive carved pumpkins now filled the room and the many flickering candles seemed to glow even warmer than usual. Halloween had always been a complicated holiday for Albus. He loved the festivity of it, but it had always taken on a bit of a somber note in his household growing up. He knew all too well what lingered in his father’s mind each time the date rolled around. They’d all gone to Godric’s Hollow once on Halloween when he was very small, and all laid flowers at Lily and James’s graves. He hadn’t properly understood all of it then, nor in the subsequent times he’d visited the cemetery with Harry. Lily and James had always been abstract figures, at most two smiling faces in old photographs displayed in the Potter house. Of course, his sister and brother carried on their names, but even so, Albus had never really known what to make of his grandparents beyond the stories he’d been told. But it seemed the older he’d gotten, the more he found himself thinking about them. They hadn’t been much older than he and James when they’d died. 21. It felt too cruel to even fathom. 

His mind wandered through dinner, listening to Scorpius tell him about the new broom he’d just read about in the _Daily Prophet_. He managed to nod and respond enough to seem engaged while he thought about James and Lily as well as his plans to sneak around the school that night.

His thoughts were interrupted over dessert by Scorpius. “Albus,” he called out. “Are you alright?”

Albus’s eyes refocused, looking over at Scorpius and he smiled. “I’m fine!” he said a bit too cheerily. “Just a lot on my mind,” he added, turning back over to his plate where he took another bite of his treacle tart. 

They’d decided to depart the common room at 10pm, just after their curfew hit and all the other Slytherins had gone to bed. Albus and Scorpius nervously paced around the room until they were prepared to leave. In truth, he wasn’t sure whether this plan of his would work or not. Still, he tried to convince himself and Scorpius that this would be fine.

“Are you sure we’re going to be able to pull this off, wherever we’re even going?” Scorpius asked for the 5th time. 

Albus sighed and shook his head at Scorpius’ doubts, trying to sound confident.“My dad used this loads of times back when he was at school and rarely got caught!”

“Yes, but your dad also had an invisibility cloak, Albus! So unless you’ve nicked that from your brother again, we’re going to need to be careful!”

Albus scrunched his face up, knowing that Scorpius was absolutely right. Still, he straightened up, ruffled his hair and looked down at the map which now showed quiet halls. 

“It’s going to be fine,” he said and headed towards the door.

There was a certain thrill to sneaking about the halls of Hogwarts at night that Albus found exhilarating and terrifying all at once. The boys navigated the dim halls in near-darkness, too nervous to light their wands unless absolutely necessary. Scorpius followed Albus closely, walking as quiet as a shadow behind him until they reached their destination. They were in the Astronomy Tower which was luckily free of students that night. Scorpius looked at Albus in confusion but Albus merely gave him a quick smile before they took to climbing the endless stairs up and up and up until they were at the very top, where the space was open and exposed. Below them the lake glowed silver in the moonlight and the sky above was dotted in stars. The chilly October air wrapped around them, the smell of autumn in the air. 

“This is brilliant,” breathed Scorpius, staring up at the blanket of stars above them. “How’d you even think to come here?”

Albus took in the sight of all of it and breathed deeply. “On Halloween, after we’ve all gone to bed, my dad likes to go outside to our backyard and stare up at the stars by himself. When I was about 7 or so, I happened to be out of bed and first found him out there, just sitting quietly, looking up. He was thinking of his parents, he said. So I sat with him and looked up at the stars too.”

Albus vividly remembered that night. He’d never seen his dad look so sad. But still, Harry had smiled at him and pulled Albus into his lap, wrapping them both up in the blanket he’d brought out with him. Albus had asked him about James and Lily, and Harry told him all he could, his voice bursting with pride and grief all at once. Since then, Albus had taken to honoring his father’s tradition in whatever tiny way he could.

Scorpius looked over at Albus. “Not long before my mum died, she told me that when I missed her to look up at the stars and that she’d always be there. There’s something comforting about that thought.”

They stood quietly for a beat before Albus took a seat against the stone parapet and Scorpius joined him. Rummaging through his pockets, he pulled out a small bottle of firewhiskey and held it up to Scorpius. It had been another gift from James, who’d slipped it into Albus’s trunk not long before they left the house. 

“How did you get your hands on that?” Scorpius asked, looking shocked before a wide grin crept over his face.

“I have my ways,” he said with a wink. 

He opened it with a flourish and offered the first sip to Scorpius who took the bottle. Scorpius held it up to toast the stars. “To James and Lily,” he said softly, taking a sip before handing it over to Albus.

“To James and Lily,” Albus whispered with a sad smile. “And everyone else we’ve lost before their time.”

He took a sip and the firewhiskey burned in his throat. They were both quiet for a long time, staring up into the darkness as they sipped the firewhiskey. The moon lit the space around them in silver and shadow and Albus let his mind wander. He thought of his dad, who was probably still awake, mourning the parents he’d never known. He thought too though of Hogwarts, of how beautiful the castle looked etched in moonlight and how special it was to have this space that felt like it was his in this moment. He’d spent a long time despising this place, hating the way he felt crushed into a million strict boxes as he walked its halls. But he was 16 now and growing into himself in ways he’d never expected and Hogwarts in the meantime had wedged its way into his heart. The castle had always welcomed him in, and he was only just beginning to realize it. Fire in his belly and the stars above, he was content. 

His thoughts slowly turned to Scorpius too, even as he willed himself not to. They were sitting side by side, their outstretched legs just barely touching. Albus thought about how warm Scorpius’s hands were every time they brushed against his to pass the firewhiskey between them. He kept hoping those hands would linger, that in the darkness Scorpius would take his hand like it was the most obvious thing in the world to do. Every time Scorpius spoke, his voice nearly in Albus’s ear, Albus was reminded of just how close they were. About how with a turn of his head, he’d be breaths away from Scorpius. He wanted to close the space between them, to know what kissing him would feel like. He wanted the darkness to wrap around them, for them to navigate each other by touch. He wanted things he was terrified to ask for, terrified to think about. 

Albus sighed deeply. He wanted to kiss his best friend. Merlin’s beard, he was going to ruin everything and yet he couldn’t get it out of his head. And Scorpius kept leaning closer to him, talking quietly beside him, laughing and nudging against Albus and Albus was going to go crazy trying not to kiss him. Because Scorpius Malfoy certainly didn’t want to kiss him back. They were best friends, that was all. He had to convince himself of it, to remind his heart that this was never going to work, that he’d probably just end up ruining their friendship in the meantime. And then he’d be alone.

Scorpius’s head sank onto Albus' shoulder and his heart pounded against his chest.

“I’m so glad I met you,” Scorpius whispered.

Albus’s heart skipped a beat.

“Me too,” he stammered.

Scorpius’s head jerked up suddenly and he turned to look at Albus. His eyes were full of starlight. “I really mean it, I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he said, his voice sincere. “I’m thankful everyday that we’re friends.”

 _Friends. Just friends,_ Albus reminded himself.

Before Albus could reply, Scorpius continued. “I just- I know it’s the firewhiskey making me so sentimental but I really care about you, Albus. You always have my back.”

Albus stared directly into his eyes with all the sincerity he could. “Scorpius, you are the only thing in the world that has made my time here so bearable. I really don’t know where I’d be if we hadn’t become friends.”

Scorpius gave him a crooked smile and looked at him, gently biting his lip as he stared. Albus could swear he was leaning forward ever so slightly and he was about to do the same just as the clock tower loudly tolled midnight. In a panic, the boys both glanced down at their watches and then at the map that was open beside Albus. The hallways near them were still clear but the boys both knew that the later it got, the more risk they ran of getting caught. Albus wasn’t sure whether to curse the clock or to breathe a sigh of relief. 

“We should head back,” Scorpius said, standing up abruptly.

He glanced towards the doorway before turning back around to offer Albus a hand getting up. Albus gladly took it, heaving himself upward as the world spun just slightly around him. Map in hand, he and Scorpius crept back down the way they came, their footsteps gliding silently down the stone steps. Their normal route back though was cut off by the sight of Professor Flitwick patrolling the hall and they quickly turned around, wandering into the labyrinth of halls around them. Albus was barely focused on where they were going, only hoping to avoid anyone on patrol. They soon found themselves in an empty hall where they stopped to take a breath and attempt to orient themselves. They were somewhere on the third floor and Albus followed the map to try to figure out the easiest way to get them back to the Slytherin common room. He was so caught up in tracing their path that he didn’t think to check if anyone was coming.

Footsteps echoed down the halls as Albus and Scorpius shared a look of panic. Hands trembling, Albus scoured the map for any sort of nearby hiding spot as Scorpius paced back and forth, scouring the walls for any place to take cover. The hall stretched on - even if they ran they’d be heard and quickly caught. Scorpius muttered profanities under his breath, his hands waving in panic. Suddenly there was a gasp and Albus heard behind him the creak of a door as Scorpius pulled him inside what seemed to be an oversized, empty broom closet. He breathed heavily as he lit his wand and stared down at the map, watching in amazement and relief as Professor Morgan made her way down the hall and passed right by their hiding spot. When the map showed the hallway finally clear again, he and Scorpius both sighed heavily before starting to laugh. 

“Well, that was close,” Scorpius exhaled. 

“Way too close,” Albus agreed. Able to finally think, he looked around the space they had jammed themselves into. It was not much bigger than a closet, but it fit both of them perfectly. Albus ran his hands along its charred walls. 

“I didn’t even notice the door,” he said, staring at Scorpius confused.

“I didn’t either! I just turned around and there it was!” 

“I guess the castle is looking out for us tonight,” Albus said, his hand still pressed to the wall in gratitude.

It was then that he realized just how close together they were standing. How he could hear Scorpius’s heart, still beating heavily. How he could hear every breath Scorpius took, suddenly hyper aware of every inch of space that Scorpius occupied. How a part of him wished the broom closet was just a little smaller, so that there was no space at all between them. His mind raced to places they’d never gone before and his heart beat faster, and this time it wasn’t just from the fact that they had just barely avoided getting detention. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t even hear Scorpius say his name until Scorpius reached out and touched his shoulder. Albus jumped like he was a frightened cat, which just made Scorpius laugh. Albus melted again at the sound of it in his ear and then he hated how ridiculous he was acting right now around this boy who he’d literally known since his first day at Hogwarts. He was going mad. He was going absolutely mad. 

Silently grateful that Scorpius didn’t know occlumency, he turned to face him. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I was asking if you wanted to head back to the common room,” Scorpius replied, giving him a tired smile. 

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Albus said, looking back down at the map. Their way back was clear for now and he prayed it would stay that way. They crept out of their hiding place slowly, creeping their way down the halls. Albus breathed a sigh of relief to have some physical space between Scorpius and him, terrified that if they had stayed in that place any longer, he would’ve been inclined to do something stupid. The whole while back, he kept his eyes glued to the map, trying not to look over at Scorpius, trying not to think about the broom closet, about the shape of Scorpius’ face, his eyes, his lips. Trying to walk straight as his head buzzed with firewhiskey. He was especially trying not to think about the way Scorpius kept looking over at him and the new ways that his gaze seemed to linger. What terrified Albus the most was that he didn’t know what he was more nervous about: if Scorpius didn’t actually like him like that, or if he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally have more time to spend writing this so I promise I'll be updating more regularly now! Thanks for keeping up with this story!


	5. Overthinking

Neither Albus nor Scorpius talked much about that Halloween in the days to follow. Luckily though, Albus was kept quite distracted by the fact that Slytherin’s first quidditch match was that next weekend. Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Albus was terrified. He ran frequent drills with the team in the days leading up to it, coming home exhausted and immediately falling asleep when he reached the dormitories. His head was full of quaffles with no room to think about Scorpius.  
The morning of the match came and Albus was up with the sun, jittery and frazzled. Too early to head to breakfast, he dressed and sat in the common room, curled up in his usual fireside armchair. He stared out the windows, watching the lake water lap against the glass. He even caught a view of the giant squid lazily floating by. He barely noticed the other person join him, sitting across from him on one of the couches. It was Scorpius.  
“I was surprised to see you awake until I remembered what day it was,” he said quietly, giving Albus a supportive smile. “How’re you holding up?”  
Albus laughed nervously. “I’m bloody terrified.”  
“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re a damn good Quidditch player,” Scorpius replied.  
“Hang on, when have you seen me play?” Albus asked.  
Scorpius turned red. “Perhaps I’ve watched a couple of the Slytherin practices...” he said quietly, trying not to blush even more.  
“What! I never saw you!” Albus exclaimed.  
“Well, I never stayed very long…” Scorpius said slowly, “but I was curious to, er, to see the team play.”  
Albus didn’t fully buy into his answer, but he smiled as if it was the full story. 

At breakfast, Scorpius continued to reassure him as they ate. Albus barely managed to finish his toast, his nerves eating away at his appetite. Soon enough, he and the rest of the team rose from the table and prepared to make their way down to the Quidditch pitch. Scorpius reached out for Albus’s arm just as he left the table and Albus turned around to look at him.  
“Good luck,” he said, shooting a bright smile at Albus.  
“Thanks.”

Up in the air, he found it easier to breathe, the crowd blurred from vision. Their cheering  
became dull against the wind and it was just the players up here. He briefly thought about Scorpius, sitting amidst the sea of green of Slytherin students and the thought both calmed him and terrified him. What he found far more nerve-wracking were the players in red whom he saw across the pitch from him. He was too far to see his sister’s face, but her blazing red hair was clear from across the way as she tracked the golden snitch. Of the chasers, he especially paid attention to Rose, who now had the quaffle in hand as she weaved past Slytherin players, getting closer and closer to Albus. He barely managed to block her attempt at scoring, and could hear the Slytherins cheer at his save. He breathed a brief sigh of relief as Michael Chen took the quaffle, zooming off to the other side of the pitch as he passed it along to Lizzy Parkinson and Caroline Carter, the other chasers of the team.  
The crowd erupted in a cheer when Holly Thompson, Gryffindor’s keeper, missed the quaffle, scoring the first points of the game. Slytherin slowly began to rack up points, though of course no one truly had the game yet; the snitch had not been caught. Albus was pleased that he’d only let two quaffles past him, as opposed to the eight that Holly had. No matter who won the game, he’d certainly proved his place. And to no surprise, it was Lily who caught the snitch, bringing up Gryffindor’s total up enough to beat Slytherin to the delight of the crowd. As disappointed as he was at the loss, Albus still smiled over at his sister, who held the snitch up victoriously in her hand. Jamie Turner, the Slytherin seeker, was quite talented but Lily had inherited her dad’s seeker skills and was quite a formidable match. And while Slytherin had lost, they certainly hadn’t been crushed by their opposing team. Albus was certainly pleased with his own performance, getting compliments from the entire team. Even Rose shook his hand heartily as they left the pitch.  
“Brilliant match, Albus,” she said, sounding impressed. “Glad to see you putting those keeper skills to the test out here.”  
“Thanks Rose,” he replied, sounding grateful and proud. “You didn’t do too bad yourself!”  
She playfully smacked him before splitting off towards the Gryffindor changing room.  
“See you later Albus!” she called out.  
Albus waved back.  
When he returned to the common room later, Scorpius was waiting for him. Before Albus could say anything, Scorpius was right next to him, putting his arm around Albus for a brief moment in excitement before quickly pulling away.  
“We may not have won, but you were brilliant out there, Al!” he exclaimed.  
Albus found himself blushing. “Thanks, Scorpius.”

November blurred by, the work piling up. Albus was mentally checked out and while he kept up his good marks, he felt distant from both himself and his friend. Scorpius often disappeared, spending more and more time studying with Rose, acting nervous around Albus, as if one of them had done something wrong. Albus couldn’t help but terrifyingly picture Scorpius and Rose back together, kissing in some secluded corner of the castle, fearing that he’d misread everything, that he’d be forced to support his friend’s relationship when the only person he wanted Scorpius to kiss was him. Still, their chats with Rose during potions never seemed to indicate anything more than an immensely academic friendship with each other. He felt trapped in the spirals of his fears, refusing to get answers and instead wallowing in a semi-lonely misery. There was an emotional distance to them that built up as the days went on, a wariness they both seemed to share. Their hands would brush against each other on accident and they’d both recoil, and yet Albus still found it too foreign of an idea that Scorpius would want anything more than a friendship between them. He selfishly assumed that if Scorpius was equally interested, he’d just say it, despite the fact that Albus held his tongue about any affections and was terrified by any idea of honest communication. So he kept his heart safe and locked it away, trying not to fall even harder for Scorpius.  
In their rare spare time, he and Scorpius continued to explore the castle, finding hidden passages and mysterious corridors, realizing Hogwarts had far more to hide than they’d first thought. He did his best to not end up in any more small spaces with Scorpius, to not tempt himself any further. Sometimes Albus wandered by himself too, slipping out after everyone had gone to bed, seeking the solace of the quiet halls and doing his best not to get caught. His thoughts were always ringing loudly in his head; out after curfew though, he just focused on the present, on stone walls and the sound of his footsteps echoing down the halls. He also went on long walks along the lake, taking in the autumn views surrounding Hogwarts. He craved the clarity of brisk air and quiet.  
It was progressively colder each day, clouds often covering the sky and bringing cold rain with them. By the time December neared, he found himself bundled in sweaters and scarves, hovering by the common room fireplace. It was one such cold and rainy day that he woke up, dressing warmly to head out to Hogsmeade. Scorpius was not coming; the Slytherin prefects were being held for a meeting, and so Albus planned to go with just Rose, who he hadn’t properly talked to in what felt like ages. As he pulled out his cloak he saw Scorpius incessantly straightening out his robe and trying to fix his hair.  
Albus laughed. “You look fine Scorpius!”  
Scorpius turned, a half-panicked look in his eyes. “I just don’t want to seem disheveled. I want them to think I’m doing a good job so that, you know…” he trailed off.  
Albus knew why Scorpius was concerned. Being the overachiever that he was, he wanted to be Head Boy next year. He looked Scorpius over.  
“Hang on,” he said quietly, “your badge is crooked,” reaching trembling hands out to fix it.  
Scorpius stood still as he did it, trying not to look at Albus too closely. Albus didn’t dare look up at Scorpius, else he thought too much about how close their faces were from each other. He took an abrupt step back. The boys both looked at each other for a split moment before they quickly turned.  
“Alright then,” Albus said. “I’ll see you later!”  
And with a flourish he grabbed his cloak and was gone. 

He and Rose met up in the Three Broomsticks, rain pattering on the roof as they found a booth near the fireplace. Albus treated them both to butterbeer and tea, and they sat together catching up. Rose was telling him about a disastrous herbology class that had something to do with a venomous tentacula, but all he could think of was how much time she’d been spending with Scorpius and how of course the two of them were definitely back together and how Albus was going to somehow ruin his friendship with Scorpius for all eternity and -  
He found Rose staring at him. “Albus, you look like your head is everywhere but here! What’s wrong?” she asked, putting down her drink.  
He sputtered, trying to form words.  
“Scorpius and you aren’t together again, are you?” he finally blurted out.  
She stared at him, her eyes wide and then laughed. “Merlin, no! Scorpius and I realized quite quickly that we are far better off as friends rather than anything more. Why?”  
“Well, he’s just been spending a lot of time with you recently and I thought, well-”  
Rose cut him off. “Albus, we literally just get together to study for ancient runes together or practice spells. That’s it! And you’re always welcome to come, it’s just we’ve usually assumed you wouldn’t be interested.”  
“Oh,” he said quietly, already feeling stupid.  
“You sound jealous,” she said teasingly, lightly batting at his hand, but then Albus blushed and she saw it and she paused. “This isn’t about Scorpius and I,” she said quietly. “This is about Scorpius and you!”  
Albus put his hands over his face, cringing heavily. He peeked through the gaps in his fingers at Rose who was smiling at him playfully.  
“You know you can talk to me,” she nudged, trying to get him to speak.  
Albus was mortified, sinking lower down in his seat as he tried to disappear from her. Rose wasn’t giving up though, and she continued to expectantly stare at Albus. He rolled his eyes, sighed and sat up a smidge, looking straight at her with his hands still covering his beet red face.  
“Fine. I have a crush on Scorpius,” he mumbled. It was weird to hear himself say it out loud, and he took a sip of tea to distract himself from Rose’s reaction. He was preparing to regret saying anything at all until he saw that Rose seemed unphased by what he’d said and not even a bit surprised.  
“Well of course,” she said, “that’s quite obvious!”  
He nearly choked on his tea.  
“Obvious?” Albus looked mortified. “What do you mean?”  
She stared at him and then laughed. “You boys are so thick sometimes, I swear… Albus, you think I haven’t noticed the way you act around him?”  
Albus froze. Was it really that apparent? Rose seemed to sense his confusion and so she continued.  
“You can’t seem to take your eyes off him when you think he’s not looking, you constantly want his validation, you laugh at his jokes far too quickly, you -”  
Albus stopped her. “Okay that’s enough. How the hell do you pick up on all this?”  
She stared at him like he was an idiot for not being able to pick up on things like that. “Girls notice these things. Also, I know you too well, you’re easy to read.”  
“Okay, well, it doesn’t matter because I’m not even sure he’s interested in me,” Albus huffed, trying to move the spotlight off himself.  
What he said wasn’t fully truthful. He knew the way Scorpius acted around him these days and wasn’t always blind to the glances Scorpius sent his way. But he didn’t know what to make of them and found Rose to have a far better thought on whether or not he was imagining all of it.  
“Well, I actually think he’s quite smitten with you as well,” she replied.  
Albus breathed a quiet sigh of relief.  
“How do you know that?”  
“Scorpius and I do talk even when you’re not around,” she said.  
“Has he- Has he told you that he likes me?” Albus exclaimed, his heart picking up.  
“No, but it’s apparent by the way he talks about you!”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
Rose rolled her eyes at his apparent stupidity. “Albus, he talks about you all the time. Far more than one normally talks about their friends. And he’s constantly flirting with you!”  
“But how am I supposed to tell the difference between friendly banter and flirting?!” he asked, exasperated.  
She shrugged her shoulders. “You just...know. I don’t know. It’s about a feeling you get. Anyway, he likes you, I’m sure of it.”  
Albus let out a weak laugh. “Yeah, now I just need to figure out what to do about it.”

Where Rose proposed he just directly broach the topic with Scorpius, Albus was of the opinion that an opportunity would simply fall into his lap to express his feelings. He always felt inadequate with words when he got flustered and he knew that if he tried to actually talk to Scorpius about it, it would just result in disaster. So he didn’t talk about it. And the more he didn’t talk about it, the more nervous he was. He became even more skittish around Scorpius, terrified to say a single word. He sat with enough space between them at dinner that their elbows didn’t knock against each other like they usually did, he went to bed early to avoid the two of them being alone together in the common room, and he finished his schoolwork on his own rather than asking for Scorpius’s help, not wishing for Scorpius to lean over his parchment close enough for Albus to smell his shampoo. Scorpius picked up on it too, his interactions with Albus taking on a formal but still friendly tone. They danced around each other like familiar strangers, still playing the part of close friends but with a dullness to their interactions. Albus longed for winter break, even though he knew all he’d be doing was running away from his fears. Both of them were heading home this year and Albus hoped that with some space between them, he could finally sort out how to proceed.  
At Albus’s urging, Rose joined them in their compartment on the train ride back to London and the three of them played exploding snap and ate sweets and talked about their plans for the holiday to pass the time. Finally back, they all grabbed their things and waited for a lull in the crowd of students jostling their way along the corridor.  
Standing close in the doorway behind Scorpius, Albus suddenly looked above them and couldn’t help but laugh. Scorpius looked up too and let out a sound of panic that he tried to pass off as a laugh, and both boys turned a deep crimson that they hoped the other wouldn’t notice.  
“Well, er, have a nice holiday you two!” Scorpius exclaimed in a squeaky voice, not fully making eye contact with either of them. And then he was gone, hurrying off the train.  
“Rose, I’m going to kill you,” Albus said, though there was embarrassment rather than malice behind his words.  
Rose just giggled. “I’m just trying to help move things along since neither of you seem to be keen on communicating!”  
Albus let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know! It just feels weird to say it outright because what if he doesn’t feel the same way and what if I ruin everything by admitting that I like him and-”  
Rose stopped him. “Okay, you are way overthinking this. He obviously likes you, and now you just need to wait for the right moment to let things play out.”  
“I know you’re right…” he sighed. “Also I can’t believe I’m involving you in my love life, especially considering that we’re talking about your ex-boyfriend right now.”  
She sighed, as if they hadn’t talked this over a million times before. “We barely dated and now I’m quite close friends with him, so it’s really not that weird, Albus.”  
Albus raised his hands in surrender. “At this point, I’m fine with taking all the help I can get.”  
“Well, you really seem to need it! When this break is over, just do something about this. Otherwise you both are going to run your friendship into the ground in the meantime.”  
Albus sighed. “You’re right! You’re right.”  
“Right then, let’s go,” she said, and they headed off the train to find their parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rushed through this chapter a bit because the next one's where things start to really happen and I'm excited to actually post it! So stay tuned!!


	6. The Winter Holiday

Christmas Eve was spent at the Burrow, the house overflowing with family. The Potters were one of the first families to arrive, and slowly, mostly by Floo and apparation, the rest of the family began to arrive. The house was lively and full of cheer. Teddy, who had arrived with Victoire since they now shared a London flat together, had turned his hair dark green for the festivities. Uncle George had brought with him a large stash of fireworks, and though his wife rolled her eyes when asked about her thoughts on it, Albus noticed the way Angelina grinned at every joke George made. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Percy were quick to dive into a discussion of politics by the kitchen table while Albus’s parents chatted with Uncle Ron, Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur. Uncle Charlie was busy in the kitchen helping with finishing making the dessert. 

The cousins had all camped out in the sitting room, catching up about their lives. Half of them were now out of Hogwarts, becoming healers, journalists, ministry workers and everything in between. Victoire and Teddy were engaged now too, and as they all admired the ring and talked about the wedding to come, they watched Teddy’s hair turn a shade of bright pink. As stupid as it felt, Albus wished Scorpius were there. He would’ve fit in perfectly with all the rest of them, joking around and chatting and sneaking Christmas cookies when their Gran’s back was turned. 

They were a large enough group by now that they had to be split into two large tables, Albus ending up at the cousins table between Dominique and Rose. Albus and Rose chatted the most during dinner but Dominique finally turned her attention over to Albus as they ate dessert. 

“So Albus,” she began, “how’s 6th year?”

“Er, not terrible,” he said with a shrug. “Keeping myself busy with quidditch and stuff.”

She smiled at him. “Oh yeah, James told me that you were playing for Slytherin’s team! That’s brilliant!”

“Yeah, it’s been good,” he said, his voice shaky. “How have you been?”

Dominique was only a few years older than him, but Albus found her deeply intimidating. She’d followed in her dad’s footsteps and gotten a job with Gringotts, working as a code breaker around the world. She was also the only sibling in her family to have gotten the signature red Weasley hair, which she kept piled in a messy bun.

“Well, work’s kept me busy and away from home but it’s been a thrilling time. My last post was in Morocco and it was absolutely fantastic. Just got back a couple weeks ago!” she said breathlessly. 

“That’s so cool,” he replied, eyes wide as he pictured her along the streets of Marrakech. 

“Have you started thinking about where you’d like to end up after Hogwarts?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

There was the golden question, one that Albus had been asking himself many times over. “I’ve honestly no idea,” he blurted out. 

His cousin Roxanne leaned into the conversation now. “Don’t worry too much,” she assured. “Both my parents always say that we’ll all find our place in the world, no matter how long it takes. I really stumbled into my job at the _Daily Prophet_ by accident and now I love it!”

“Oi Roxanne,” butted in James, a playful glint in his eye. “If we’re talking about you now and all the time you spend in Diagon Alley for work, are you finally going to tell us all more about you and Jane Thomas?”

Roxanne pressed her lips together, suppressing a grin. “A lady never tells…” she replied demurely, “But yes, we’re finally together.”

James and Dominique high-fived from across the table. “Called it!” they both yelled out.

“Roxanne that’s fantastic,” Victoire called out. “I’ve always liked Jane!”

Roxanne hid behind her hands in feigned shame. “I still can’t believe you walked past us, James.”

He grinned. “Always a pleasure to heckle you in public places, Roxy.”

Roxanne turned to address the confused and concerned expressions on Albus and Lily’s faces in particular. “Your brother was quite the gentleman but he did get me thoroughly embarrassed when he found Jane Thomas and I snogging in Diagon Alley. She works as a bookseller at Flourish and Blotts so she’s right down the street.”

“Listen, I’m just happy you finally made a move! You’ve been pining after her for years!” James added.

Albus wondered what his cousins would all think if they were talking about him and Scorpius instead. He’d of course be mortified if any of them ever caught him snogging anyone (Teddy and Victoire were incessantly teased by all of them for it already), but there was a thrill to the casual way with which they all spoke with each other about their various flings and crushes. He’d never really talked about it at all, with anyone, except maybe for Rose and that was on rare occasions. It wasn’t that he was scared to say something or scared to admit that maybe he liked boys as well as girls. Everyone else had been accepted with open arms by the family. He just didn’t really know what he’d say. Or if he wanted to say anything at all right now. It didn’t help that Scorpius was a Malfoy. Everyone who knew him loved him, but he still wore a family name draped in years of baggage, especially when it came to Albus’s family. It felt stupid to think so far ahead anyway; there was still nothing between him and Scorpius. No matter how many glances and blushes and awkward moments they shared between each other, still nothing had happened yet. He couldn’t let himself jump that far ahead.

As the night wound down, they parted for the night with their arms full of cookie tins and wrapped presents. Of course this included their annual Weasley Christmas sweaters, which Mrs. Weasley had managed to finish despite the huge number of them needed and which everyone was looking forward to dutifully wearing on Christmas morning. His Gran gave him an extra long hug as he left, as if she knew he needed it, and they waved their way off.

The rest of the break flew by. Albus spent it visiting family, accompanying his parents to work if he woke up extra bored, and mostly just missing Scorpius quite terribly. They’d at least been in touch through owl post. He’d sent Scorpius a package of sweets and a book for Christmas and had received a book on quidditch in return and a large amount of chocolate. As awkwardly as they ended things their last time together in person, neither of their letters indicated any lasting friction, which made Albus breathe a sigh of relief. Still, he was nowhere near prepared to walk into his kitchen one morning, his last day before the break was to end, to find Scorpius Malfoy in his kitchen, wearing a cozy green sweater and chatting with Albus’s father and Lily. He rubbed his eyes and stared in disbelief. 

“Scorpius? What are you doing here?” he asked, though his mouth broke into a wide smile as he took in Scorpius sitting at his kitchen table, drinking a cup of tea.

Before Scorpius could reply, Harry interjected as he cooked scrambled eggs. “Draco has urgent business out of town so Scorpius is staying here overnight.”

“Oh!” he said, his mouth hanging open for a second too long. “Great!”

Albus’s brain felt frazzled. Scorpius was staying with them. In the Potter’s house. He was sitting in Albus’ kitchen right now, like it was the most natural thing in the world. And Albus was standing in front of him wearing dingy pajamas, with unbrushed hair and bleary eyes. 

“Well, er, I’m going to go get dressed then,” he said, immediately turning around and running back up the stairs. 

His bedroom door slammed shut and Albus stared at himself in the mirror in a panic. 

“Shit shit shit,” he muttered under his breath as he rifled through his drawers, looking for presentable clothes that weren’t just the glorified pajamas he’d spent most of the holiday in. 

He finally settled on a pair of jeans and a fraying grey sweater. Then he grabbed a brush and attempted to tame his hair, though he seemed to just make it worse with every movement. Finally, he gave up, gave himself a terrified smile in the mirror and walked out of his room as calmly as he could even though his heart was rattling around in his chest with every breath he took. Scorpius hadn’t moved since Albus had run upstairs. Instead, he was digging into the breakfast that Harry had been busy making, smiling up mid-bite into his toast when Albus reappeared. He took a seat across from Scorpius and Harry slid a plate over to him that Albus gladly accepted. He caught Lily staring at him, a mix of curiosity and suspicion on her face. He narrowed his eyes back at her before she smirked and turned away. He didn’t have time to question it though because James entered the kitchen, still half-asleep.

“Did your uncles give you the day off from the shop?” Harry asked as he handed James a plate of food.

James took it and yawned as he sat down at the table. “Nope, but they said I could come in late today.”

Harry looked suspicious and James held up his hands in innocence. “Honest, they did! Ask Uncle Ron yourself!”

James still had dreams of signing with a quidditch team professionally, but until he got an offer, he’d been working at the joke shop when he wasn’t training, helping Ron and George wherever needed. Luckily for everyone, the job kept him busy and not moping around at home. 

As he took in the rest of the room, his eyes rested on Scorpius as he suddenly realized he was there.

“Scorpius! Hey! What are you doing here?” he asked as he dug into his plate. 

“Dad’s away on business and was planning on dumping me with his parents so they could drive me to the train tomorrow but when I requested maybe staying with you all, your parents kindly said yes,” he replied, sipping more of his tea. “My grandparents are...fine in small doses but I don’t think I’d last on my own with them for very long,” he grimaced.

Albus had only seen Scorpius’s grandparents in passing a couple of times but from what he knew of them, he shuddered at the thought of having to stay with them for any amount of time. 

“Well, it’s good to see you again,” James replied as he seemingly inhaled everything on his plate. “And to be honest,” he said under his breath, “I am running late for work.”

In an instant, he was done with his food, standing up, pushing in his chair and with a loud crack, disapparating out of the room. 

Scorpius jumped, but no one else was fazed. Albus and Lily both rolled their eyes.

“JAMES!” Harry yelled.

“What?” cried a voice from upstairs.

“Clean up your plate and-”

There was another crack and James re-appeared in the room. He picked up his plate, put it in the sink and then disapparated.

“-stop apparating in the house.”

Lily turned to Scorpius. “You’d think he’s just learned to apparate or something, but no, it’s just that he’s too lazy to take the stairs!”

Scorpius laughed.

Not long after they finished breakfast, the weather turned to sleet, keeping them all stuck inside. Albus and Scorpius spent the hours alternating between playing endless games of wizard chess and just simply talking, sprawled out on the floor of the sitting room. Lily was in and out of the room, occasionally leaning over one of their shoulders to critique a chess move or to offer her commentary on their conversation. She’d also taken quite a liking to Scorpius’s cat, who had come along to the house and who now purred in Lily’s lap.

“Dad,” she called out to Harry as he walked into the sitting room, “can we please get a cat?”

Harry took off his glasses and cleaned them on his sweater before coming over to the couch and looking down at Jinx. 

“Lily, we offered to get you a cat years ago and you chose an owl instead!” he replied, though he still bent down to pet Jinx.

“Yes but, what if we got one for the house?”

“That’s a question for Mum,” he said, taking a seat in an armchair.

Lily then turned to Albus. “Al, you should get a cat,” she said, looking even more determined.

Albus had been, for multiple years now, without any school pet. He’d brought an owl with him initially, but in part as a protest against writing to his parents and partly because she didn’t seem to like him very much, he’d let Hera stay at home and she’d become the new Potter house owl. In truth, he hadn’t really missed her, and Scorpius’s cat liked him quite a lot, so he’d never felt too pet-deprived. 

“But I get to hang out with Jinx at school!” he argued. 

“Don’t you want your own pet?” she relented.

“Nope! Scorpius is fine to let me hang out with his,” he replied, and as if on cue, Jinx hopped down and walked towards him, nuzzling against his leg. “I rest my case,” he added, gesturing down at the cat. 

Lily sighed over-dramatically. “You’re useless! Scorpius, what do you think?”

Scorpius shrugged, joining in on the banter. “I don’t mind sharing cat custody with Albus,” he said, leaning over to pet Jinx. “And if you invite me over again to your house, you can hang out with the cat as much as you want!”

Albus couldn’t help but notice the red in Scorpius’s cheeks as he leaned over. 

Lily didn’t have the chance to reply because just at that moment, Albus’ mum walked through the front door. Her red hair was sopping wet and dripped onto the floor as she appeared in the sitting room.

“Hello hello! Dreadful day to be out,” she said, taking off her raincoat. She'd been at a work event for the _Daily Prophet_.

Harry waved his wand over at her and dried her off.

“Thanks, love,” she said, moving to put her things away. “Right then, I’m starving!”

Albus and Scorpius lingered in the kitchen as Albus’s parents made dinner together. Albus enjoyed watching the banter of his parents as ingredients and utensils flew through the air. They were kind to Scorpius as well, asking about school and life and chatting with him as if he were one of their own children. Scorpius was practically beaming. Dinner was cottage pie, a family favorite, and even James arrived home in time to enjoy it with them. Soon enough though, the evening was over and everyone headed to bed early to prepare for an early train departure the next day. 

Albus was glad he’d recently tidied his room so it wasn’t a complete mess when he brought Scorpius up to it. He took in the space through new eyes, looking around at the various quidditch posters tacked on the wall (especially the massive one for the Holyhead Harpies that was pasted on the wall across from his bed), the pile of books haphazardly stacked on his dresser and the photographs of his family that waved from his bedside table. There was now also an old cot squeezed into the room, for Scorpius to sleep in.

No matter how hard he tried though that night, he couldn’t get to sleep. Rose’s words from the train echoed in his head, about taking chances and finding the right moment. This felt like about the worst moment to say something if things didn’t go as planned, but he thought about being back at Hogwarts and trying to find a quiet moment alone with Scorpius to talk and that seemed terrifying too and he knew he’d never be brave enough to say anything if he didn’t speak now. He got out of his head enough to take a listen to the room. Scorpius’s breathing was quiet too and Albus knew he was still awake.

“I can’t seem to fall asleep,” Albus whispered into the darkness.

“Me neither,” Scorpius replied from his cot. 

Albus sat up in bed, his blankets rustling. At the sound of it, Scorpius sat up as well. In the darkness of the room, all Albus could see was the outline of Scorpius’s figure looking over at him. Any words he’d thought he’d had ready disappeared and he stared into the dark.

“This has been really fun,” Scorpius said quietly. “Your house is so welcoming.”

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Albus replied, trying to steady his tone. It felt stupid to blurt out how Scorpius had been on his mind for the entire time he’d been home, but still, he felt compelled to allude to it. “I really missed you,” he said softly, hoping that Scorpius could understand what he was trying to say before he had to say it outright.

There was a heavy pause before the cot creaked and suddenly Scorpius was sitting on the edge of Albus’s bed, perched hesitantly. Looking at Albus, he was barely breathing. Albus wished he could see his face clearly, wished he knew what Scorpius was thinking.

“I missed you too,” Scorpius whispered in a guarded voice. There was a palpable weight to his words.

Albus didn’t know what to say. His stomach was in knots as both of them sat frozen, scared to make any sudden movements. Perhaps because it was dark, perhaps because they were alone, perhaps because there was a sense in the air that a chance for something had opened up, Albus found himself shifting out from under his blankets until he was nearly next to Scorpius. Scorpius was still, his figure just barely trembling as he watched Albus move closer. There was a pause as they each took in what was before them before nearly simultaneously, they moved in closer and their lips collided. Albus’s shoulders relaxed in relief at the fierce reciprocity of the kiss. They broke apart for a single shocked second, hearts pounding as they stared at each other through the darkness. Then by some unspoken signal, they were kissing again. Albus pulled Scorpius in closer and let his hand linger on Scorpius’s waist. Scorpius leaned into him, filling the open space that had existed between them. Albus didn’t let himself think, leaning into the darkness and letting his fingers trace the outlines of Scorpius. Neither of them spoke at all, too scared to break whatever this was. 

The momentum shifted and suddenly Scorpius was laying with his back on the bed, Albus hovering over him, breaking contact between their mouths only to take ragged breaths. There was a desperation to all of it, a hunger, like they’d been starved for touch. Their kisses were sloppy and wanting, but despite it all Albus still found himself shocked at how natural it all felt. How his lips knew where to kiss, how his hands knew where to touch, how his lungs kept breathing even though his brain was full of nothing but the thought of Scorpius. The thought of kissing Scorpius, of pressing his body against his, of being so close that he could hear Scorpius’s heart beat.

His timid fingers sought the feeling of warm skin, creeping beneath the layers of clothing that kept them apart. Scorpius hooked his leg around Albus’s and pulled him even closer as Albus’s lips kissed his face, his neck, his collarbone. Eventually they just held each other, lying back on the bed listening to the sound of their heavy breathing. 

When he woke up, Albus was alone. Early morning light streamed through his windows and from his room he could hear the rest of the house bustling. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, the night came back to him in flashes of memory and he shot up in bed. He looked over and saw that the blankets on the cot had been neatly folded up and Scorpius was not in the room. He genuinely couldn’t remember where Scorpius had ended up going to sleep but regardless, he wasn’t there at all. It almost felt like he’d dreamt the whole thing.

“Fuck,” he whispered under his breath. 

Ever the over-thinker, Albus quickly slipped into a rush of panic. He was sure he’d ruined everything. That Scorpius had woken up and regretted everything and left the room as quickly as possible. That he was probably hiding downstairs, far away from Albus. He buried his head in his hands and sighed deeply. Maybe Scorpius hated him now, that he thought that it was all a mistake. But none of last night had felt like a mistake to Albus. It had seemed that Scorpius had felt the same in the moment, but maybe this was the kind of thing that could only happen in the dark with no later mention of it. Albus certainly hoped that wasn’t the case.

He got out of bed slowly, feeling exhausted and stressed, pulling his clothes on with a creeping pit of dread building in his chest.

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. It was a quiet knock and Albus assumed it was his dad, making sure he was awake.

“Come in!” he called out as he pulled on a sweater. 

The door creaked open and in the doorway stood Scorpius, holding two mugs of tea. Albus froze.

“Morning,” Scorpius said, biting his lip to stop himself from smiling too widely. “Your mum sent me up to make sure you were finally awake. You didn’t budge this morning, even though I was sure all my moving around the room would wake you!” 

He stepped into the room and held out one of the mugs to Albus, whose arms had been hanging limply at his sides. 

“Thanks,” Albus replied, smiling. 

He was taken aback by how casual this all felt, like they hadn’t been wildly making out with each other hours earlier. Maybe it really had been just a dream. He carefully took the mug from Scorpius’s hands and moved to sit on his bed. Scorpius moved to sit beside him, but before he did so, he gently pushed the door shut with his foot. Albus’s panic from before disappeared. For the first couple minutes, they both quietly sipped their tea, staring straight ahead and sitting close enough that their shoulders occasionally touched if they moved at all. Albus didn’t know what to say. He didn’t have the right words and every time he opened his mouth to say something, he stopped himself because he didn’t want whatever he said to sound stupid. He was grateful when it was Scorpius who spoke first.

“So…” Scorpius began, his voice quiet but clear. “Last night.”

It was clear he’d meant to say more, but he paused as if fumbling for words. 

“Last night…” Albus echoed, looking at Scorpius for some kind of guidance. 

“I, er, wouldn’t be opposed to more of that sometime…” he said, his pale skin blushing all the way up to his ears.

Albus grinned, though he tried to hide it by sipping his tea. “I think I’d like that too,” he said, as casually as he could.

There was part of him that would’ve kissed him right there, but he was terrified of being walked in on and couldn’t imagine the level of embarrassment that would entail. Luckily, neither of them had time to fully consider it because they soon heard their names being called from downstairs as it was nearly time to go. They both shared a knowing glance that this would be discussed again later and headed downstairs, ready to return to school.


	7. What Comes Next

Both the post-holiday onslaught of schoolwork and the dreadful weather left little time for the boys to be alone during their first week back. Albus though did not worry that things had changed between them. Their legs brushed against each other under the table during dinner and they shared glances during class. Albus had to stop himself from grinning when Scorpius’s shoulder would nudge into him as they walked to class. 

They finally got their chance the following weekend, when they woke up to find the grounds of Hogwarts covered in snow. In the Great Hall, the ceiling was alive with falling snow and there was a buzz amongst everyone about the first real snowfall of the year. Scorpius was practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

“Albus, come on! It’s snowing! Let’s go!” he exclaimed, dragging Albus through the halls as they left breakfast. The two of them were layered in sweaters and cloaks and scarves to brace themselves against the cold of the Scottish winter. The outside was blindingly bright, but Albus couldn’t help but gasp at how beautiful the campus looked in the snow. They walked across the massive lawn, passing a massive snowball fight as well as the construction of a massive snowman. Albus caught sight of his sister’s bright red hair peeking out from her hat and threw a snowball towards her as they passed by. She and a few of her Gryffindor friends responded with a volley of snowballs that pelted both the boys and they fled the scene quickly, though Scorpius in particular made sure to give Lily a friendly wave as they ran away. She responded with a wink and another snowball. Eventually they found themselves down by the lake, where ice crept at the edges of the water. In the distance came shouts from the snowball fight, but by the water, they were greeted with the peaceful sound of icy water lapping the shore. Standing by one of the bare trees that lined the shore, they both stared out at the water, shivering in the winter air as they stood side by side. When Albus turned back to Scorpius, he laughed, as Scorpius had pulled down his hat at low as he could while wrapping his scarf around his face so that only his eyes peered out. 

“You look ridiculous!” he teased, smiling at Scorpius.

Scorpius tried to say something but his voice was muffled.

“I can’t hear you,” laughed Albus. “Take off that damn scarf for a moment!”

Scorpius rolled his eyes but complied, slowly layer by layer revealing more of his face. 

“Better?” he asked, jokingly.

Albus stared at him, at his pensive face, at the way his eyes glowed in the winter light, at his Slytherin scarf, now hanging loosely around his neck.

“Better,” he agreed in a quiet voice.

Scorpius smiled and Albus’ heart nearly burst at the sight of it. “I can’t seem to even remember what I was saying,” Scorpius said, his voice trailing off at the end as he looked at Albus.

His grey eyes looked at him and told Albus a thousand things that Scorpius didn’t seem to be able to say out loud. Albus gave a nervous glance back up the hill to reassure himself that the two of them were truly alone.

“Well,” Albus replied, taking a step forward feeling bold, “Maybe we don’t have to talk…” 

A bright flush of pink crept up Scorpius’s neck and cheeks, and Albus knew that it wasn’t just from the cold. “Oh,” he said quietly. “I think I would quite like that.”

Albus reached for Scorpius’s scarf, his hands fidgeting with the ends of it as he pulled Scorpius closer to him. Their faces were suddenly only a breath apart. Albus hesitated, his eyes darting away from Scorpius’s in panic. He was suddenly terrified that somehow in the light this would all be different, that he’d ruin everything, or that someone would see them, or--

Scorpius interrupted his spiraling thoughts. “Hey Potter,” he whispered. “Are you going to finally kiss me or not?”

Albus looked straight into his eyes, grinning at him in relief. “Gladly, Malfoy,” and in an instant he closed the space between them, feeling Scorpius’s lips against his. All the thoughts in his head went quiet for a moment, every part of him focused on Scorpius. The warmth of his breath on Albus’s face, the feel of Scorpius’s hands reaching for him, how everywhere Scorpius touched him burned against the cold. Eventually they broke apart and stared at each other, breathless.

“Hi,” Albus breathed in a stupidly wide grin, moving to lean back against the tree. “I’m a fan of this.”

Scorpius made a similar expression, his eyes sparkling. “Yeah,” he said, trying to suppress his smile, “me too.”

Albus sighed at the two of them. “We’re ridiculous,” he laughed.

Scorpius leaned in and kissed him again. “I think I’m okay with that,” he grinned.

Albus turned away from him for a moment and walked towards an open patch of snow.

“What are you doing?” Scorpius called out.

Albus dug his hands into the snow, whipped around and threw a snowball at him. It hit Scorpius square in the chest and Scorpius stared at him, mouth open for a second in feigned horror before he went sprinting towards Albus. Albus darted away, though it was hard to run in the snow and before long, Scorpius was close enough to lunge for him, tackling him into the snow. They both sank into it, grateful that there was a sizable amount of snow on the ground to cushion their fall. Tangled up together in the snow, Albus continued to toss more snow at him until Scorpius pinned his arms down, laughing the whole time. 

“Fine! I give up!” he yelled up to Scorpius who was now perched on top of him.

Scorpius looked victorious and made sure to playfully swat a handful of snow onto Albus’s face before finally letting him go. Albus wanted to kiss him again, to be so close that the snow the clung to them would melt away. The thought of it made him giddy. He looked over at Scorpius as he fixed his hair. His hat had fallen off when he’d tackled Albus and now his head was covered in snow. He was about to say something when he saw Scorpius look past him and give a wave to someone in the distance. Albus turned around to see Rose headed their way. When she was closer, Albus threw a snowball at her, which she promptly deflected with a wave of her wand.

“Nice try,” she smirked as she walked up to the boys, who were both still sitting in the  snow. Her winter cloak was pulled tightly around her and snowflakes clung to her curls. “Lily said I’d find you two down here.”

Rose reached hands out to both Albus and Scorpius to pull them out of the snow, which they both gladly accepted. “Beautiful weather, isn’t it?” she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. “What are you two up to?”

Albus shrugged. “Just enjoying the snow,” he said. 

She opened her mouth to say something and then seemed to change her mind. “Well, I was wondering if you both would like to come practice charms with me. I’ve got a massive bag of Honeydukes candies from the holidays that I’d be more than willing to bribe you with!”

Scorpius immediately looked interested, but Albus narrowed his eyes. “Not unless you join us for a snowball fight before we go inside,” he insisted. 

She cocked her head and conceded with a smile. “Fine!”

“And no magic this time!”

She tucked her wand back beneath her cloak and held up her hands. “Okay. But I’m still going to kick your arse!” she replied and dove towards the snow. 

In no time, there was snow flying everywhere.

With the arrival of snow and the January winter, the castle had taken on a distinct chill, one felt all the more down in the dungeons. He was grateful for all the layers he wore and for the fires that now burned in much of the castle in hopes to keep the classrooms warm. The entire potions class shivered all throughout their lesson, huddled around the fires lit beneath their cauldrons. Scorpius’s hands were violently shaking as he tried to cut his ginger root, and he was swearing under his breath. Albus turned away from his own cauldron and scooted his stool closer to Scorpius. 

“Need help?” he asked, lightly touching Scorpius’s hand. 

Scorpius gave him a look of embarrassed relief. “That would be amazing,” he chattered. “It’s bloody freezing down here!”

With nimble fingers, Albus took Scorpius’s knife and cut the root into even pieces before handing it back to Scorpius.

“Thanks,” Scorpius said, very purposefully brushing his hand against Albus’s as he took it while Albus did his best to suppress a smile that screamed anything more than “just friends”. 

Still, he turned back to find that Rose was staring at him with a suspicious look. She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head towards Scorpius. Albus shrugged his shoulders and feigned innocence, looking back down at his cauldron. He knew she wasn’t going to let this go, and as best as he might try, he knew this would be a hard secret to keep considering how obsessed he was with Scorpius at this point. But he didn’t really know what this was going to be or not be. They hadn’t really talked about that part yet. He wasn’t really sure what to tell Rose, even if she asked. 

He managed for several days to not end up alone with Rose before she finally managed to corner him. They were all in the library, working on their astronomy essays when Scorpius got up to go look for a book, leaving Albus alone. Within seconds, Rose had materialized out of nowhere, sliding into his seat.

Albus looked around, confused. “Bloody hell, where did you just come from?”

She looked at him like he was an idiot. “My friends and I also study in the library, Albus. And I just so happened to see that you had a moment alone,” she remarked, keeping her voice low. “So… How’s everything?”

“Er, fine?” he answered.

“Hmm… Okay. Either you’re incredibly thick, or you’re just avoiding the topic, so I’ll be a bit more direct. How’s everything with-” she gestured her head to Scorpius’s papers.

“It’s none of your business,” he replied with a smirk.

“Oh, is that right?” she asked. “Well, after the amount of pining I’ve had to hear from you, I would expect at least some sort of closure on the subject. Especially since your sister told me that he stayed the night at your house!”

He sighed and conceded. He was too excited to not say anything.

“Okay, so we’ve kissed. More than once,” he whispered. “And it’s been-”

His mind flashed back to that first night, and to the subsequent times they’d been together. To what it felt like to kiss him. How infinite it made him feel.

“-it’s been really good.”

Rose grinned and nudged him with her shoulder. “Albus!” she exclaimed while trying to keep her voice down, “I’m so happy for you!”

“To be honest, I’m just so relieved,” he admitted. It felt unbelievably good to talk to another person about all of it, though talking about it also made it feel far more real than it had felt before and that brought its own bundle of nerves.

Rose was about to reply when Scorpius reappeared, heading back towards their table.

“Bye Al, we’ll talk later,” she said with a wink, before giving Scorpius a wave and heading back to her Gryffindor friends.

“What was that about?” Scorpius asked, setting down a new pile of books on the table.

Albus turned to look at him. “Nothing,” he said. “Rose just had a question about our potions homework.”

He eyed the stack of books in front of them. “So what happened to your “I’m only looking for one book” thing?”

Scorpius elbowed him playfully. “You know me, I can’t help myself when it comes to books!”

That night, they stayed up late, curled up in their usual spots near the fire, trying to get through more schoolwork. Albus was hard at work on an essay for transfiguration, his brain foggy but determined to finish the last few bits of the assignment. He had soon migrated from his armchair onto the carpet right in front of the fire, sprawled out with his quill, parchment and books. The moment the last Slytherin went to bed and the common room was finally empty of everyone else, Scorpius scooted off the couch and sat across from Albus on the carpet.

“So, what do we want this to be?” he asked abruptly, his voice quiet and thoughtful

Albus looked up from his parchment. “What do you mean?”

“Well, are we just friends who occasionally snog or are we…” he paused and took a deep breath, “Do we want to actually, er-”

Albus finished the sentence. “-date?”

“Yeah. Date.”

The word felt terrifying and exhilarating all at once. He thought about what it would mean to date Scorpius Malfoy. To call him his boyfriend. He wanted it so badly. But Scorpius was also his best friend. His only really close friend, the sole person he could spend a million hours with without going mad. A person he couldn’t bear to lose, especially to something stupid like a nasty breakup. Not that he even thought that they’d ultimately break up, but the possibility of it already terrified him. His thoughts spiraled out of control and in his head he grasped at them, begging himself to stop second guessing all of this. 

“What if we mess this up?” he asked, barely audible. He looked at Scorpius, who was nervously staring into the fire as he stole a glance at Albus. 

Scorpius shrugged, trying not to look as nervous as Albus guessed he was. “Then we go back to being just friends. We’ll figure it out.”

His usually perfect blond hair had gotten messier through the evening and Albus wanted to reach over and smooth it out. His skin glowed in the firelight. Everything about him made Albus’s chest hurt, with an aching sort of love and fear mixed together to batter at his ribcage.

“I can’t lose you,” Albus blurted out, his voice cracking with fear and longing. 

Scorpius shifted his place until his face was breaths away from Albus’s and took both of Albus’s hands in his. His touch gave Albus goosebumps. “I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered.

His hands were warm and his skin was soft and Albus melted into his words. 

Albus leaned in and kissed him. “Good.”

The fire was dying and Albus sat with Scorpius wrapped around him. Albus had never imagined just how safe he could feel being held like that. But then, Scorpius had always been like that to him. He made him brave when Albus felt scared. He loved, loudly and deeply and Albus didn’t know how to hold all that love without it shattering in his hands. He was terrified that he’d mess things up. He worried about that enough just as Scorpius’s friend. But he didn’t want to go back to pretending like he was fine with just staying friends with Scorpius. He wasn’t fine. He wanted more. Scorpius wanted more. It felt so scary just to think of that and even scarier for them to acknowledge it out loud. He didn’t know what to do, but he could feel Scorpius’s chest rising up and down and his heart beating, his quiet breaths mingling with the noises of the fire and suddenly, Albus felt brave.

“So… Are you free this Saturday?” he asked, his voice shaking.

Scorpius gave him a confused laugh. “Of course I am. Why?”

Albus turned around and looked at him, trying to sound as casual as possible. “Maybe because I want to take my boyfriend on a date to Hogsmeade...”

“Yeah?” Scorpius replied, eyes full of flickering flames from the fire, a grin creeping onto his face. Albus melted at the sight of it. 

Albus grinned back. “Yeah.”

Scorpius bit his lip. “I think your boyfriend,” and he said the word so gently that Albus thought he might explode, “would like that very much.”


	8. Smitten

Albus had never been on a date before. It hadn’t mattered before, because he’d never really thought about it and dates from afar had always seemed so easy, but now he was going on a date and he had no idea what he was doing. What if he said something stupid and ruined the mood? What if Scorpius hated whatever Albus planned? What if they were so awkward together as boyfriends that they never wanted to see each other again? Maybe they’d rushed into labeling whatever this was between them! Kissing Scorpius was one thing, pulling him into broom closets and dark alcoves, but dating was something altogether new. It was uncharted territory, it was shaky ground. 

He felt stupid being so scared about the whole thing, since it wasn’t like he didn’t know Scorpius at all. They were best friends already; dating shouldn’t have felt so different. But it did, and the nearer their trip to Hogsmeade came, the more nervous Albus got, and by the time Friday rolled around, he was in a panic.

  
  


Albus leaned across the table in the study hall to flash a look of desperation at Rose, who stared back at him looking quite pleased. 

“I can’t believe I’m asking you for advice right now,” he cringed, leaning back. “I also can’t believe I’m technically dating your ex.” 

“First of all, I like to think I give decent advice,” she began, “and second, Scorpius and I may have “dated” but it was more like a glorified friendship than anything else and I know he’d certainly agree. We literally just hung out in the library and talked all the time. Don’t make it weird.”

“I know,” he groaned, “but anyway, I have no idea what I’m doing. Do you think we’ve rushed this? Am I making a huge mistake?”

“Al, you’ve been pining over him all year and now you’ve been snogging him all over the castle,” she laughed. “So no, I don’t think you’ve rushed taking him out on a date.”

“But what do I do?”

Before she could answer, Lily slid in beside him, smacking down her school things. 

“What’re you nerds up to?” she asked, with a swagger and tone that reminded Albus of their older brother. 

Rose looked directly at him and subtlety raised her eyebrows in a question.

Albus shot her a nervous look in response and sighed. He hadn’t really thought about how he’d talk to Lily about any of this, but seeing as an opportunity had presented itself, he decided to be truthful with her.

He mussed up his hair like he always did when he was stressed and then turned to her. “I’m, er, going out on a date,” he mumbled. “With Scorpius.”

“Oh my god, finally!” she exclaimed. 

Albus couldn't say he’d known what to expect from Lily, but this was certainly not it.

“Finally?! Am I really that obvious?” he laughed.

Rose nodded as Lily replied. “You are to the ones who know you best, Al,” she said, her voice taking on a kinder tone. “But anyway, I’m so happy for you!”

She threw her arms around him in a massive hug. “I’m really proud of you,” she whispered in his year, squeezing him tighter.

Albus’s eyes welled up with tears but he blinked them back. His siblings and him had never been very affectionate with each other, so her hug meant even more to him than just a show of support.

Finally she broke away from him and stared at him with a determined look in her eyes. “So what’s your plan for this date?”

  
  


At the advice of Lily and Rose, and with his own limited instinct, they went to Honeydukes first. That was what they almost always did anyway, but things somehow felt different now. Their usual banter had taken on a flirtatious edge that kept both boys giggling as they walked the aisles of sweets. Albus couldn’t stop smiling. It was like he’d had a cheering potion cast on him. Scorpius was much the same as they passed by colorful winter window displays and walked through the snowy village. 

They popped into The Three Broomsticks for a warm drink, finding a seat by the fire. Scorpius’s cheeks and nose were bright pink and Albus wanted nothing more than to hold them in his hands and warm them up. 

Scorpius took a sip of his tea and looked up at Albus. “This is wonderful,” he remarked quietly.

“What, the tea?” Albus replied, half-joking.

Scorpius kicked him in the shins from his seat. “You’re an idiot,” he laughed.

“That may be true, but I’m  _ your _ idiot. I’m afraid you're stuck with me now,” Albus answered as he sipped his drink. 

“Oh I’ve been stuck with you for years. I’m alright with it.”

They stayed by the fire until a massive crowd of Hogwarts students made their way into the inn and the space went from cozy to claustrophobic. It took a single glance between the two of them for them to get up and make their way back out into the chilly street. 

“Where to next?” Scorpius asked, wrapping his scarf back up around him. His nose was already turning pink again.

“Just follow me,” Albus replied, nodding his head in their next direction.

Winter winds whipped their cloaks behind them as they walked and cut through their layers of clothes. Albus shivered and quickly had second thoughts about leaving the inn and it's cozy fire behind. He was already in need of another warm drink. Still he trudged on, Scorpius trailing just behind him. The further they walked, the quieter it became, and soon they were the only people in sight. Perfect. Behind him, he heard Scorpius slow down.

“Are we going towards the Shrieking Shack? Isn’t that place like, super haunted?” Scorpius asked, his feet dragging.

Though still far away, the Shrieking Shack had just come into view, which helped to explain the dearth of people around them.

“It’s not haunted, that’s just a rumour,” Albus called out behind him.

Scorpius paused again. “Are you sure?”

Albus sighed and turned around. Scorpius had stopped and was staring out towards the house in the distance, looking suspicious, his shoulders tense.

“Scorpius, my dad has literally been in there multiple times. He said it’s not haunted. Besides, we’re not going inside! We’re just going closer so we have some privacy.”

“Yeah no offence but your dad literally battled Voldemort multiple times so he’s  probably not the best judge of what’s scary and what’s not.” 

Albus burst out laughing. He and his siblings had accused their dad of the same thing many times over when growing up. But as he looked at Scorpius, a more thoughtful response popped into his head. “I think that my dad is just really good at being terrified and going ahead with it anyway. Bravery comes when you’re the most scared.”

“Spoken like a Gryffindor,” Scorpius replied. “But as a Slytherin, I get to be more of a coward.”

Albus looked Scorpius in the eyes and shook his head. “Scorpius Malfoy, you of all people are not a coward. And who said Slytherins can’t be brave too?” he asked, holding his hand out to Scorpius. 

Scorpius opened his mouth as if to deny it, and then changed his mind. He took a deep breath, relaxed his shoulders and grabbed Albus’s hand. 

“Also I swear, it really isn’t haunted,” Albus added, “though that’s a story for another time.”

Scorpius narrowed his eyes, but he still gripped Albus’s hand and walked alongside him. Meanwhile, Albus held Scorpius’s hand and tried to pretend like it was the most casual thing in the world, even though his heart was pounding in his chest and he was trembling so much that even his breaths were shaky. Together, they walked the rest of the way in silence, just accompanied by the sound of each other's breathing. Finally, they reached a spot quite close to the property fence for the Shrieking Shack where a large old tree stump was. Albus stopped, rummaging through his robes until he pulled his wand out and cleared the snow from it, then taking a seat. Scorpius joined him, still shooting suspicious looks at the nearby building.

“Did you take me out here just to scare the wits out of me?” he joked, though his fear was still apparent through his smile.

“Nope,” said Albus. “I brought us here so we could do this-” and he kissed Scorpius.

Breaking off for a moment, his face close enough to breathe warm air onto Albus’s face, Scorpius smiled. “I need you to know that I’m still bloody terrified but I suppose this is worth it.” 

The cold didn’t seem to matter when they were kissing. The wind pricked at Albus but then there was Scorpius’s hand on his cheek and the world was warm again and he felt like he’d swallowed a big sip of firewhiskey.

Albus nestled his head onto Scorpius’s shoulder as they sat together.

“Are we gonna tell people about this? About us?” Scorpius whispered, as if he hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

Albus was quiet for a moment. He’d spent far too many nights awake thinking through how to answer that very question. “I don’t know,” he whispered back. “Our lives have never been private and I don’t really want even more eyes on us than usual.”

“Me too,” Scorpius replied. “I’m kind of okay with keeping it quiet right now.”

Albus shifted and looked over at him. “Just so you know, I, er, may have told Rose and Lily about us… I was just really nervous about today and needed to confide in someone and-”

Scorpius shook his head. “Albus, it’s alright! I know they both have our best interests at heart.” He suddenly looked at Albus with a grin. “And hang on, did you say you were nervous about today?”

Albus kept his head down, fidgeting with his cloak as he blushed. “Maybe?” he squeaked. 

“Scared of going on a trip to Hogsmeade with a boy and yet you’re not terrified of that house?” he teased.

Albus blushed even more, trying to choose his words carefully. “I think you underestimate just how much I like you,” he replied, his voice just above a whisper.

It felt embarrassing to say out loud, but it was true. 

Scorpius leaned in and rested his forehead against Albus’s. “And I don’t think you realize just how much I like you in return,” he whispered.

Albus had never considered himself much of a romantic, but something about Scorpius and the way he said those words made Albus’s head reel in a way he’d never thought possible. From the tips of his toes to the top of his head, Albus was smitten.

Walking back to the center of the village, they held hands until the streets were less deserted, and then they still walked close enough to brush shoulders every so often. A misty and cold rain started up as they headed along the path back towards Hogwarts and they soon found themselves alone again, quiet in thought.

“Have you ever told your parents that you like boys?” Scorpius asked, looking over at Albus as he broke the silence between them.

Albus looked out at the misty path before them. “No, but mostly just because I’ve still been figuring it all out,” he said, briefly looking over at Scorpius before dropping his eyes down. “What about you?”

Scorpius sighed. “Right before Mum died, I sat down and told her that I didn’t think I was straight…” Then he paused. “Well, if I’m being completely honest,” and he laughed for a moment, “I actually told her that I had a crush on you. I needed her to know and I needed her to tell me that it was okay. That I was okay.”

He paused, taking a deep breath.

“And did she?” Albus asked softly.

Scorpius smiled, though it was the smile that Albus knew he only did when he was thinking about his mum. Happy and sad all wrapped up in one. “Yeah,” he said, “She did. I just hated the idea that she’d be gone before getting to know all of me, you know? I mean, I still feel that way now, but at least I don’t have to regret not telling her.” He looked down at his feet, kicking rocks along the path. “But I don’t know about Dad. We’ve never directly talked about it, but I don’t know. I think he’d be fine with anything I told him, but I’ve just somehow never managed to bring it up.”

They were both quiet again and then Scorpius laughed to himself and Albus turned to look at him.

“I was just thinking about what my grandfather would say if he knew we were dating,” he said, shaking his head. “That would be a sight to see.” 

“That sounds terrifying,” Albus grimaced. The few times Albus had seen Lucius Malfoy, he’d always gotten chills of fear from just the sight of him.

“Yeah, there’s a reason Dad and I don’t tend to spend much time with his parents,” Scorpius replied, shaking his head. “It doesn’t help that Malfoy Manor is the most terrifying house I’ve ever been to.”

“Scarier than the Shrieking Shack?” Albus joked, nudging him with his shoulder.

“I’d honestly rather spend the night in there than in the haunted mansion that my grandparents live in!” he laughed.

Albus wondered how much Scorpius knew about the house, about what had happened in there. Harry had never talked in detail about much of it, but from the bits he’d managed to gather from him, as well as from talking to his Uncle Ron, had painted a terrifying picture of the Malfoy family and of their home. The mention of Lucius Malfoy in particular usually brought about a slew of nasty words from any one of the Weasleys. He didn’t really know how to bring any of this up with Scorpius, nor did he particularly want to.

As they walked on, the castle soon appeared, looming above them and Albus was relieved to return to somewhere warm and dry. Right before they walked through the gate back onto school ground, Scorpius reached out for Albus’s hand and squeezed it. 

“Thanks for today,” he said, pausing by the entrance. 

Albus didn’t know what to say in return, so he did a quick glance around and then kissed Scorpius.

“Let’s do it again soon,” he said, as if they were about to part at the gate and not both head back to the same exact place. As if they got to have a sweet and romantic goodbye. Living in the same place as the person you were dating somehow made everything but more and less complicated. But Albus wasn’t complaining. 

They melted back into the Hogwarts grounds smiling and joking like they always did, though this time as both friends and something more.


	9. The Accident

January quickly rolled into February and even though the winter winds still blew fiercely, Albus was soon back on the quidditch pitch, practicing with the team for their next game. Despite his best efforts to keep moving, the cold air seeped through his uniform and kept him shivering long after he left the pitch, occasionally also drenched from the messy winter weather. There was always a warm fire to return to though, and Scorpius too, even though Albus occasionally found him fast asleep on the common room couch when he returned. All the while there was endless schoolwork that kept him awake late and his mind constantly occupied. 

Near the end of the month, Albus sat in the Great Hall with his hands trembling as he attempted to eat breakfast. It was game day and they were to play Hufflepuff.

“You’re going to be fine, Albus!” Scorpius reassured him, nudging him with his shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’re a great keeper!”

Albus put down his toast. “I know I shouldn’t be this nervous but I can’t help it,” he mumbled. 

Lily appeared out of nowhere, suddenly standing behind Albus. “I can’t believe I’m wishing Slytherin’s quidditch team good luck, but I hope you do well out there, Al,” she whispered, leaning down to hug him. 

That got him to smile. “Thanks Lily.”

They were lucky that the sun had made a rare appearance that morning, bathing the quidditch pitch in light. The blue skies were a welcome change from the monotonous grey they were accustomed to. Albus was simply grateful that it wasn’t raining like it had been in the days and weeks prior. In fact, perched high above the ground, hovering in front of the goal posts, it was quite pleasant. It took the edge off of Albus’s nerves. It helped too to glance down occasionally and see the pale blonde hair of Scorpius amidst the green of all the Slytherins loudly cheering for them. He managed to block most of the quaffles that flew his way, keeping the Hufflepuffs on their toes as they fought to score against him. His mind cleared until the game was all he could think about, enjoying every second of it. He blocked another quaffle and a Slytherin grabbed it, flying towards the other end of the pitch and giving him a moment’s peace. Albus didn’t see the rogue bludger until it hit him square in the face, knocking him off his broom. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

  
  


Everyone gets injured in quidditch. Both his parents had experienced their share of bruises and broken bones from the game and had lived to tell the tale. Neither of them had ever really discussed just how painful it all was though, because all Albus could think about when he briefly woke up was just how much his whole body hurt. An involuntary cry of pain left his lips and in an instant, there was someone pouring more potion down his throat that almost immediately pushed him back into sleep. He seemed to float in and out of consciousness, occasionally hearing familiar voices from far away before slipping back into darkness. He had no sense of time and barely any sense of being. Whatever potions were being offered to him were numbing the pain but also numbing the rest of reality. 

After some time, he finally woke up again and managed to, with much effort, carefully open his eyes. Afternoon light streamed through the windows of the Hospital Wing, making the whole space light up. 

Madam Abbott was nearby, gently arguing with someone who he could not see, but whose voice Albus quickly recognized.

“Scorpius, listen to me, he’s going to be perfectly fine,” Madam Abbott’s voice assured him.

“Why is he still unconscious then?” Scorpius asked, his voice panicky.

“Because his body is recovering from quite a nasty injury and that takes time. He’s going to be okay.”

Then as if she had a second-sense, she turned around to look at Albus, who was attempting to move his head to catch a glimpse of Scorpius. 

“Mr. Potter, glad to see you awake. Though I will say, it’s still best if you don’t move,” Madam Abbott said, walking a short distance over to him, her footsteps echoing around the space. 

He squinted up at her, still not his full self and gave a half-hearted smile.

“You took quite a nasty hit to the head,” she began, “not to mention the fall afterward. Fractured skull, concussion, broken nose, a broken wrist, and a few more odds and ends broken and bruised. I’ve finally mended all the bones up, but it certainly took a bit of time. I’m just glad Neville- sorry- Professor Longbottom, cast enough of a charm to cushion your fall just a bit. Funnily enough, I swear your dad also took a hit to the head during our 6th year. I only remember because Hufflepuff ended up winning the game, though of course we all felt terrible about Harry’s injury…”

“Anyways, you’ll be here just a day or two longer and then I promise to send you back out good as new.”

She suddenly looked back at Scorpius, who stood timidly nearby, frozen in place. “You can come over,” she said softly. 

Scorpius was there in an instant, looking down at Albus with pure relief on his face.

“Mr. Malfoy here has visited every day checking in on you,” Madam Abbott said, shaking her head, though she smiled at Scorpius. “I’ll be back in a bit to give you more potions, Albus,” she said, and then she turned and disappeared. 

Albus looked back at Scorpius, who had taken a seat beside his bed and was nervously fiddling with the sleeves of his robe. Even with his foggy head, he couldn’t help but notice how tired Scorpius looked, with the bags under his eyes far more pronounced than usual and his hair a disheveled mess.

“Are you alright?” Albus whispered, his voice hoarse.

Scorpius let out a strangled laugh. “You’re the one who was hit in the face with a bludger! I should be asking you that!”

Albus shrugged his shoulders and winced at the movement. “I’m doing fine,” he replied. “Meanwhile you look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“I haven’t,” Scorpius admitted. “Not really. You’ve been in here for nearly a week, looking half-dead every time I came to visit! You’ve had me terrified.”

He’d been out for nearly a week. It had felt like no time at all and yet anytime he tried to think back to his last moments of consciousness, it felt like an eternity ago. 

“Well I’m nearly fixed up,” he assured Scorpius. “Don’t you worry.”

“I worry constantly about everything,” Scorpius laughed. “And I had to watch you get brutally hit by a bludger and look like you were falling to your death. So don’t you tell me to not worry, Albus Potter!”

“Was it really that bad?” Albus asked. He couldn’t even remember being hit, let alone falling.

“Awful. You looked like an absolute mess when they got on the field to bring you up here. It was an accident, that’s all I will say. The Hufflepuff beater who had hit the bludger looked absolutely distraught over the whole thing.”

Albus shook his head in disbelief and the table to his right suddenly caught his eye. It was covered in cards of well wishes and sweets from Honeydukes. The sight of it made him smile. 

“Is that all for me?” he asked.

“Of course it is! You’re far more popular than you give yourself credit for,” Scorpius smiled. “You’ve had lots of other visitors while you’ve been out.”

Albus grinned brightly before a wave of exhaustion crashed over him and he sunk further into his pillows, struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Are you okay, Al?” Scorpius asked, reaching towards him.

Albus grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I’m fine,” he said quietly, his eyes closed again. “I’m just really tired. But please make sure to tell everyone I’m alright. And thank them for the cards.”

Scorpius squeezed Albus’s hand back. “Yeah, I’ll do that. You just rest, ‘kay?” 

“Okay,” Albus said, falling back into sleep.

He was finally dismissed just a couple days later, with almost no signs of prior injury. He was still occasionally unsteady in his walk, but Scorpius was always beside him to offer a hand and he found himself feeling better and better every day. Lily offered him a wordless hug when she finally saw him outside of the hospital wing, drawing him so close that he felt nearly suffocated before pulling away and giving him a wink. Rose had likewise given him a look of relief and a hug when he made his way into the Great Hall for breakfast the next day. His teammates too were overjoyed to see him still in one piece, and their presents of Honeydukes sweets kept him well fed even after he’d left the hospital wing. 

He was thrilled to return to his own bed as well, even if it meant the return of a dormitory full of snoring boys around him as he tried to fall asleep. He loved the sounds of water against the windows and the feel of his cozy four poster bed. He loved knowing too that Scorpius was just a few steps away. He awoke after that first morning back and grinned at the sight of Scorpius and his bed head, rubbing his bleary eyes in the morning light. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Scorpius giggled.

“No reason,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders playfully.

“I think that bludger maybe muddled your brains a bit then,” Scorpius teased.

Albus reached out for Scorpius’s hands and pulled him close. “As long as I still get to kiss you, I’m fine with that,” he whispered, inches from Scorpius’s face.

“That’s alright by me,” Scorpius whispered back and leaned in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been some time since I last posted but I'm back! Instead of offering up a million different excuses for not posting since July, I'm instead offering up what you're here for in the first place: more of this story. I hope you stick around, because I really do plan on continuing to update it. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the story to come!


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